Some legal experts say too many people who fled the Iranian regime are being refused refugee or resident status in Canada as a result of prior military involvement.

Lorne Waldman, an immigration lawyer, said many of these men were arbitrarily assigned to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a result of conscription.

“They came to Canada seeking protection,” he told Global News. “And to be told, ‘No, we don’t want you because you were forced to join the organization,’ it’s devastating.”

At a protest in Montreal Tuesday, one woman who asked not to be identified for fear of jeopardizing her family’s application told Global News that for men in Iran, serving in the military is compulsory.

“In Iran, if you want to work, if you want to obtain a passport and minimum rights, you have to [serve],” she said.

Refusal to serve in the military is punishable by imprisonment, where inmates are often subject to torture.

“I cry every day,” the woman told Global News. “I have anger. I’m very devastated.”

Waldman called the situation for many of these asylum seekers a “travesty.”

But not all legal experts agree on how these cases should be handled.

The Government of Canada listed the IRGC as a terrorist entity in 2024. Some experts say it can be hard to know who was a supporter of the regime and who wasn’t.

“You have to be able to go back through the person’s background and look for a pattern of activity in terms of what groups they were associated with,” James Devine, an associate professor at Mount Alliston University in New Brunswick, told Global News.

Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told Global News in a written statement that membership in the IRGC warrants inadmissibility and that “individuals who served as a result of compulsory military service are assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

“Conscription alone does not necessarily result in inadmissibility,” they continued. “All applicants are given the opportunity to present their case by providing documentary evidence.”

Waldman said it would be easy for the government to assess an applicant’s background and that a failure to do so leaves many at risk of having their applications denied.

“I have not seen a single case where IRCC or CBSA has found that someone who is conscripted into the Iranian revolutionary guard is not inadmissible,” he said.

Iranians in Montreal say they are continuing the fight, pleading with the government to halt deportation orders.

According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, as of July 6, 48 people have been reported inadmissible based on membership in the IRGC.

Former Iranian conscripts seeking asylum in Canada fear deportation