Deportation stayed for Edmonton woman facing removal from Canada over fake letter

A federal court has temporarily stayed the deportation of an Edmonton woman days before she was to be removed from Canada.

A federal court has temporarily stayed the deportation of an Edmonton woman days before she was to be removed from Canada.

Kamarjeet Kaur was scheduled to be deported Monday (May 29) at 6 a.m. On Saturday, Justice Alan Diner approved a motion to stay the removal order until a final decision is made for a leave and judicial review of a Canadian Border Services Agency officer's decision not to defer the removal.

Diner noted in his decision that the stay effectively grants the same relief sought in the judicial review application but said there were still open questions about whether the officer reasonably addressed potential risks of her return to India.

Kaur arrived from Punjab in northern India five years ago to study but, years later, authorities discovered her student visa application included a fraudulent admissions letter filed by an immigration agent.

While authorities acknowledged that Kaur didn't know the letter was fake, they say it was still her responsibility to confirm the admission.

On Friday, Kaur's lawyer, Stewart Istvanffy, argued Kaur should be able to remain in Canada until another application to stay on humanitarian grounds can be processed.

He said sending Kaur back to Punjab would put her life in severe danger by the immigration agent who has since been criminally charged. "This person is still free and he's threatened to throw acid at her, he's threatened her family," Istvanffy said. "She will have acid thrown on her or be killed." He said her brother in Punjab had been beaten badly last Sunday.