More than 250 rights groups have asked Ottawa to look into border checks carried out on students protesting the loss of their work permits in Calgary, after officials confirmed several protesters were served with removal orders.4 min readSep 6, 2026 08:24 AM IST First published on: Sep 6, 2026 at 08:18 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookGurpreet Singh now has no option other than leaving Canada. (Photo: X/@TorontoStar)More than 250 rights groups have written to the federal government over the way border officials handled a student protest in Calgary, after several people at the demonstration, including Indian nationals, were served with removal orders. The letter, sent on September 2 and signed by rights groups including Amnesty International, Greenpeace and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, seeks an independent review and calls for a pause of the removal orders.The protest was one of four held after roughly 1,500 people who completed non-credit courses at Portage College sites in Alberta lost their post-graduation work permits, once new eligibility rules were applied to their courses.What did police and border officials do?The demonstration took place on 12 August in Calgary’s Saddle Ridge area. Calgary Police said the event stayed calm overall, though officers stepped in when some protesters blocked a pavement and put up structures without permission. While dealing with those bylaw issues, officers checked identification and passed details to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).Also read Canada immigration changes in July 2026: What it means for Indian students, workers, and PR seekersThe CBSA later confirmed that 20 people had their status checked, and that 12 were flagged as possibly inadmissible under immigration law. All 12 were told to attend a same-day interview at a CBSA office. The agency said privacy rules stop it naming those affected, but confirmed that anyone without permission to study or work in Canada would be expected to leave.‘It will not work’One of the letter’s signatories, Bikramjit Singh of the Migrant Rights Network, said the use of law enforcement at the protest was designed to scare people into silence. He said migrants would keep organising and speaking out, and that their rights would be defended.Story continues below this adAmnesty International Canada’s Julia Sande said the checks made people fearful of speaking publicly, regardless of their immigration history, calling it a form of intimidation.‘We are doing the hard work’Gurpreet Singh, who attended the protest, said officers gave him and others only an hour’s notice to reach the CBSA office, despite being partway through a 90-day grace period meant to let refused permit holders sort out their status. He said the interviewing officer questioned him using paperwork belonging to other people, and that he ended up with a one-year exclusion order. He has since filed for judicial review, and told LiveWire Calgary, “We are doing the hard work.”Also read Why do Indians account for nearly 60% of the drop in Canada’s permanent residency numbersWhy do students say the timing is unfair?The dispute centres on a change IRCC made to its published guidance on 24 June 2026, which set out that graduates of non-credit programmes do not qualify for a post-graduation work permit. IRCC has said this was a clarification of an existing rule rather than a new one.Most ReadAffected students say they enrolled well before that update appeared, and had been told by their institutions that the change would not apply to them. Many finished their courses in 2024, 2025 and early 2026, and stayed in Canada lawfully while their applications were processed. Refusals then began building through early July 2026. Students say what has upset them most is the inconsistency: people from the same intake, on the same course, have received different outcomes, with some approved and others refused or having permits withdrawn.Story continues below this adPortage College had earlier told students by email that their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit would not be affected by the rule change, provided they had started their course before September 2024.Students have written to federal immigration officials asking them to review the timing of the new rules, and further legal challenges may follow as their 90-day window to secure a new permit runs out.AdvertisementLoading Recommendations...AdvertisementAdvertisement