The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
CBC News — Trump administration accused of defying court orders in separate deportation cases
The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday temporarily blocking the deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.
The Economic Times — Canada eases PGWP rules, removes field-of-study requirement for college graduates
Canada has revised its requirements so that international students in degree programmes delivered by its colleges will now no longer have to meet a field-of-study requirement to be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). That requirement had been put in place in 2024 for Canadian colleges but not universities, and it was part of an effort by the Canadian government to apply heavier scrutiny to the international education sector, as per an ICEF Monitor report. The revised wording on the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website clarifies that once again, students graduating from all Canadian bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes – whether from universities or colleges – are eligible for the PGWP if they meet language requirements.
CBC News — Temporary foreign workers will still be at risk after new P.E.I. safeguards take effect, advocate says
P.E.I.’s Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act, which was passed nearly three years ago, will finally take effect next month, but advocates say the legislation doesn’t go far enough to address the systemic injustices faced by this vulnerable population. Starting April 1, the first phase of the act will introduce new regulations for people who recruit foreign workers, requiring them to be licensed. The act will also prohibit recruiters from charging foreign workers fees for recruitment services and ban practices such as providing false or misleading information or withholding workers’ official documents, including passports.
Statics Canada — Socioeconomic outcomes of immigrants admitted to Canada as children, 2023
About 2 million children, aged 14 or younger, immigrated to Canada during the period from 1980 to 2023, accounting for approximately 20% of those admitted to Canada during this period. Their long-term socioeconomic outcomes, such as education attainment and wages, are important aspects for understanding their integration in Canadian society and their contributions to Canada’s economy and society over time. This release finds that, in 2022, immigrant children admitted to Canada at younger ages and those admitted as dependents of economic immigrants were more likely to pursue postsecondary education and had higher median income as young adults. These findings are based on data from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) Children Data Module.
NBC News — Columbia protester arrested for overstaying student visa as tensions grow on campus
Federal agents arrested a Palestinian student who had taken part in protests at Columbia University last spring and had overstayed her student visa, officials said Friday. The student, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was previously arrested for her participation in the protests. Her visa was terminated in January 2022 for lack of attendance, officials said. Her arrest by immigration officers from the Newark, New Jersey, field office follows the self-deportation on Tuesday of a Columbia doctoral student from India, Ranjani Srinivasan, whom DHS accused of supporting Hamas. The State Department had revoked her visa a week earlier.
City News — More than a third of students in Quebec have an immigrant background: data
More than one in three Quebec students are now immigrants in Montreal and Laval. In some cases, they are even in the majority in Quebec classrooms, according to data from the Education Ministry, obtained by Le Journal. However, the government has a very broad definition of who constitutes an immigrant. According to recent data, nearly 420,000 children and teenagers who attend elementary and secondary schools – out of a total of 1.2 million — have an immigrant background. Ten years ago, they represented only a quarter of students. Most of these students with immigrant backgrounds can be found in Montreal and its surroundings. No less than 68 percent of young people in schools have an immigrant background; a quarter of them were not born in Canada.
