The Canada Border Services Agency has deported 111 foreign nationals suspected of ties to organized crime and extortion. This nationwide operation, which began in August 2025, focused heavily on the Greater Toronto Area and British Columbia.
188 removal orders and the focus on British Columbia
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) issued a total of 188 removal orders over the past year to target individuals deemed inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. According to the CBSA,the Pacific regoin saw the highest volume of activity with 91 removal orders resulting in 58 deportations. In contrast, the Prairie region accounted for 47 orders and 30 removals, while the Greater Toronto Area saw 50 orders and 23 removals.
This initiative was rolled out in phases, starting in the Pacific and Prairie regions in August 2025 before expanding to the Greater Toronto Area three months later. The agency worked in tandem with local police forces to identify foreign nationals whose presence in Canada posed a threat to public safety due to suspected criminal affiliations.
The cases of Palwinder Singh and three other deported men
To illustrate the nature of the crackdown, the CBSA highlighted four specific cases of men removed for their criminal links. Palwinder Singh was deported after the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada found him inadmissible for membership in a criminal organization linked to an extortion-related shooting in late 2025. Similarly, Amitoz Bajwa was removed following associations with firearms offences and another extortion-related shooting.
Other high-profile removals included Jasmer Singh, who was deported after a Canadian conviction for forcible confinement, and Sahibjot Singh, who admitted to connections with an organization engaged in a pattern of criminal activity. The CBSA released images of these four individduals to emphasize the agency's commitment to removing those who facilitate organized crime within Canadian borders.
South Asian communities and the target of extortion networks
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree stated that extortion networks have primarily targeted South Asian communities located in Ontario and British Columbia. This suggests a specific pattern of organized crime that exploits ethnic enclaves, prompting the federal government to prioritize the removal of inadmissible individuals to disrupt these specific networks.
This targeted effort exists within a much larger framework of immigration enforcement. As reported by the agency, the CBSA removed 23,160 inadmissible people from Canada last year. This broader figure included 1,010 individuals removed for serious criminality,ranging from national security concerns to suspected human rights violations and war crimes.
The $30.4 million investment in 1,000 new officers
The federal government is significantly scaling up its enforcement capacity to maintain this momentum. The CBSA currently employs 530 officers dedicated to immigration enforcement, but it is now hiring 1,000 additional officers. This expansion is funded by a $30.4 million allocation provided in the 2025 federal budget.
Despite the scale of the operation, several critical details remain unclear. It is not specified why only 111 of the 188 people issued removal orders have actually been deported,leaving the status of 77 individuals in limbo. Furthermore, while the CBSA mentions "suspected links," it remains unclear how many of these removals were based on formal criminal convictions versus administrative findings of inadmissibility. the agency has not clarified if the focus on South Asian communities is a result of higher criminal activity or a higher rate of reporting within those specific populations.
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