US Edition15 extortion suspects are seeking refugee status, Canada’s border agency says
Fifteen accused extortion suspects have applied for asylum in Canada amid 106 cases in Surrey this year, with claims subject to suspension or rejection for serious crimes.
- Dec. 11, 2025, the Canada Border Services Agency said 15 foreigners facing extortion charges have applied for refugee status in Canada.
- Surrey, B.C. Mayor Brenda Locke said she is appalled that suspects claim refugee status to evade deportation and urged swift justice amid 106 extortion cases this year.
- CBSA said Canadian law requires processing eligible claims and allowing hearings, but it will ask the Refugee Board of Canada to suspend proceedings for ineligible applicants on serious grounds.
- Those found inadmissible for serious or organized criminality would have claims dismissed, CBSA says, amid a B.C. wave of extortion crimes and shootings targeting the South Asian community.
- Global News first reported the claims yesterday as Surrey, B.C. Mayor Brenda Locke demands residents deserve better than seeing legal and immigration systems abused, increasing municipal pressure on federal immigration policy.
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36 Articles
In British Columbia, 15 extortion suspects applied for refugee status, says the Canada Border Services Agency.
15 extortion suspects are seeking refugee status, says Canada's border agency
The statement from CBSA neither reveals the nationalities of the individuals nor details about their applications — but Surrey, B.C., Mayor Brenda Locke says she's "appalled" to learn the suspects are claiming refugee status to evade deportation.
Surrey BC Mayor ‘Appalled’ as Extortion Suspects Seek Asylum to Avoid Deportation
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says that suspects in a rash of extortion cases are abusing Canada’s immigration system in claiming refugee status to avoid deportation. “I am appalled to learn that suspects identified by B.C.’s Extortion Task Force are claiming refugee status to evade deportation,” Locke posted on X on Dec. 11. “Law-abiding Canadians and foreign nationals in our city deserve better than to see our legal and immigration systems abused …
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