According to the documentary, officials identified approximately 47,175 student visa holders who had failed to demonstrate compliance with their immigration requirements.
But when a committee member pressed an official for the number who were actually in full non-compliance, the response exposed a striking hole in Canada’s ability to track the population.
“I don’t have that number,” the official said.
The official also indicated that determining the precise figure would be difficult, directing further questions toward the Canada Border Services Agency.
That admission became one of the central themes of the documentary: How can authorities locate, remove or investigate people whose whereabouts they cannot establish?
The film argues that one major problem is Canada’s lack of comprehensive exit information for foreign nationals. Without reliable exit data, authorities may have difficulty determining whether individuals who disappear from immigration records have returned to their home countries, remained in Canada after violating their visa conditions, or crossed the border into the United States.
The documentary further points to estimates suggesting that the number of visa overstays across Canada could approach one million.
The investigation then turns toward Brampton, Ontario, a city the filmmakers present as a major hub in Canada’s international student system. The documentary reports that approximately 52% of Brampton’s roughly 750,000 residents are of South Asian descent, while emphasizing that the figure does not account for people who may have overstayed visas or entered Canada using long-term tourist visas.
Toronto-based journalist Harrison Faulkner told the filmmakers that a parallel education industry has developed around some international students.
Faulkner described what he characterized as unaccredited satellite campuses operating in strip malls and basement locations, calling them “diploma mills.”
According to Faulkner, Brampton’s mayor confirmed that at least 80 unrecognized or unlicensed colleges were operating in the area. He alleged that many of these institutions primarily attracted students from India who paid substantial tuition while pursuing a pathway toward permanent residency.
The documentary says Canada’s international student population expanded dramatically between 2019 and 2023, increasing by approximately 190% and reaching more than one million active student visas at its peak.
That rapid growth has raised questions about whether Canada’s immigration infrastructure was capable of properly monitoring such a massive influx.
The documentary also cites allegations involving India’s anti-money-laundering authorities, which reportedly uncovered a criminal network involving thousands of agents and 262 Canadian colleges.
Under the alleged arrangement, students would enter Canada legally on study permits but purportedly fail to attend their designated schools. Instead, according to the documentary’s account, some were allegedly moved toward the United States through illegal border crossings.
When Faulkner was asked where many of these newcomers ultimately wanted to go, he offered a blunt assessment.
Many international students in Canada, he said, “would give a limb to be in the United States.”
Watch the full documentary here:
The investigation then moved from the education system to the border itself.
Hansen and Simone said they were able to locate alleged smuggling advertisements on Instagram and TikTok. Many of the accounts they encountered were reportedly operating out of Montreal.
The correspondents contacted one individual using a Chicago-area phone number and, according to the documentary, were offered a complete package for crossing into the United States.
The alleged offer included transportation for a man, his wife and their child, as well as employment, a vehicle, food and housing after reaching Chicago.
The price?
$9,500 in cash.
The alleged smugglers reportedly instructed the correspondent to reduce his belongings to a single bag and provide live location information for approximately eight hours.
After the correspondent supplied a proposed pickup location, several different individuals reportedly contacted him independently. The documentary compared the apparent coordination to dispatch systems used by organized smuggling networks along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The vehicle that ultimately arrived was reportedly a licensed taxi.
When confronted by the correspondent, one of the men rejected the allegation that he was involved in smuggling.
“We are not smuggling,” he said.
He characterized the activity as “just only helping” people experiencing difficulties in Canada.
When questioned about why the trip would cost approximately $10,000, the man reportedly explained that the drivers needed to be paid.
The correspondent then told him that the arrangement appeared to meet the definition of human smuggling.
The conversation ended shortly afterward.
The filmmakers next traveled to Chapman Bay in Quebec, an area they identified as a potential crossing route.
According to the documentary, the location lacked obvious cameras, fencing and a visible law enforcement presence. The alleged smuggler described a route involving a 10-to-15-minute walk along the shoreline before moving through wooded terrain around an official port of entry.
A vehicle would then allegedly collect migrants on Alburg Road.
The documentary also featured a local resident who claimed migrants sometimes cross the frozen lake directly during the winter months.
The investigation eventually reached Roxham Road, a location that became internationally known for irregular migration into Canada.
Although processing facilities and security infrastructure at the site have since been removed, the filmmakers attempted to measure the response time of Canadian authorities.
According to the documentary, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police took 10 minutes and 55 seconds to arrive after the correspondents triggered a response.
An officer who arrived reportedly acknowledged that unauthorized crossings have not necessarily stopped. Instead, he said migrants now move farther into wooded areas in an effort to avoid surveillance cameras.
The documentary presents these encounters as evidence of a much larger problem: Canada may have expanded its immigration system at a pace that outstripped its ability to monitor those entering the country.
The alleged movement of foreign students toward the United States adds another layer to the controversy. If even a portion of the tens of thousands of students who cannot be accounted for have remained illegally or crossed the border, the issue could extend beyond Canada’s immigration system and become a significant concern for U.S. border security as well.
At the heart of the investigation is a basic question that Canadian officials have yet to fully answer: Where did the missing students go?
Until authorities can provide a clear accounting, allegations of widespread visa violations and organized cross-border smuggling are likely to continue fueling questions about how effectively Canada is monitoring its immigration system.
