CBSA Removes 111 Foreign Nationals in Extortion Crackdown

The Canada Border Services Agency says it has removed 111 foreign nationals as part of an enforcement effort focused on extortion-related activity, organized crime and other grounds of inadmissibility.

The agency reported 188 removal orders as of September 3, 2026. The cases were spread across the Pacific, Prairie and Greater Toronto Area regions. The Pacific region recorded 91 orders and 58 completed removals, the Prairies 47 orders and 30 removals, and the GTA 50 orders and 23 removals.

CBSA Expanded Its Efforts

The CBSA began assigning resources to possible extortion-related cases in the Pacific and Prairie regions in August 2025. The work expanded to the Greater Toronto Area in November 2025.

Canadian immigration law allows authorities to find foreign nationals inadmissible for reasons that can include serious criminality or organized criminality. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act sets out those grounds, while removal cases still involve legal procedures and applicable rights.

The CBSA says the initiative should not be viewed as a broad enforcement action against immigrants or temporary residents generally. Its stated priority is cases involving criminality, organized crime and public-safety concerns.

Four Cases Highlighted

In its September 14 update, the CBSA highlighted four individual cases.

The agency said Palwinder Singh was linked to an extortion-related shooting in 2025 and was found inadmissible for membership in a criminal organization connected to extortion-related violence.

Jasmer Singh, according to the CBSA, had been convicted in Canada of forcible confinement and was later found inadmissible for serious criminality.

The agency said Amitoz Bajwa was found inadmissible after the Immigration and Refugee Board determined he belonged to an organization involved in a pattern of criminal activity. CBSA also linked the case to firearms-related activity and an extortion-related shooting.

Sahibjot Singh was found inadmissible for membership in an organization engaged in a pattern of criminal activity, according to the CBSA.

Orders and Removals Are Different

The agency stressed an important distinction between a removal order and a completed removal. As of September 3, it had issued 188 orders in this enforcement effort, while 111 people had actually been removed.

People facing removal may have access to review or appeal options depending on their circumstances. CBSA guidance says people ordered removed are entitled to due process before removal is carried out.

Wider Enforcement Continues

The CBSA says it removed 23,160 inadmissible people in 2025, including 1,010 cases involving serious inadmissibility. It currently reports about 400 removals each week.

Canada’s Border Plan allocated $30.4 million to strengthen removal capacity, with a target of 20,000 removals annually in the relevant fiscal years. Budget 2025 and the Border Plan also provide for 1,000 additional CBSA officers.

For immigration applicants, the update does not create a new general removal rule. The practical issue remains admissibility under Canadian law, including accurate disclosure of immigration and criminal history when required.

A criminal record does not automatically produce the same immigration result in every case. The offence, sentence, timing and other legal factors can affect how admissibility is assessed, so individual circumstances remain important.