For two years now, the city of Surrey, B.C., has been at the centre of a rash of extortion attempts, largely targeting its South Asian diaspora.

Surrey police and community members say that individuals and businesses that have refused to hand over large quantities of cash have seen their residences, shops and restaurants shot up – with the apparent extortionists sometimes brazenly posting videos of the alleged crimes on social media. It was these incidents, among others, that led Ottawa to declare India’s Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity in September, accusing it of employing local foot soldiers to carry out its dirty work in Canada.

Brampton, Ont., which also has a large South Asian community, has also seen similar extortion activity.

Recently, the Canada Border Services Agency said it had zeroed in on 103 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in the extortion wave in B.C., and had started scrutinizing their immigration cases. But just as the CBSA began investigating the group further, 15 of these individuals claimed refugee status – effectively halting the probe in its tracks.

Doug Saunders: A better way to manage the border after the collapse of the Safe Third Country Agreement

As there is currently a huge backlog in asylum claims at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, it could buy the group nearly two more years here – with taxpayers picking up the bill for services they are privileged to enjoy as asylum claimants.

This, surely, is madness.

That sentiment is not a critique of the assistance Canada offers to people seeking refuge from countries where their lives may be in danger or where they fear persecution. The mass exodus of people from war-torn Syria in the past decade is a good example of those who would qualify for help. But the notion that a group of thugs should be able to take advantage, even temporarily, of our kindness as a country is beyond the pale.

Potentially, at least, these 15 individuals could obtain work permits while waiting for their cases to be adjudicated. Just submitting their claims makes them eligible for free health care. They have the right to open a bank account, transfer funds and access other banking services. B.C.’s Safe Haven program offers claimants wrap-around services to help them find housing, job support, legal aid and income assistance.

In a statement, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, whose community has seen more than 100 extortion cases this year, said she was appalled to learn the 15 suspects had applied for refugee status and demanded they face “swift justice.” Former mayor Doug McCallum said on X that the group’s “fake claims turn our immigration system into a protective shield for the Bishnoi terror syndicate.”

Hard to argue with any of that.

Opinion: The tightening of Canada’s asylum laws was an inevitability

Again, most Canadians support helping those fleeing intolerable and life-threatening circumstances. But there are limits. We can’t accept everyone in this situation. And the fact is, there have been thousands, including international students, who have abused the system by claiming refugee status when their visas expired. We can’t be taken for fools.

While I understand there might be backlogs in the refugee system, it also has to be nimble enough to move certain cases to the front of the queue for security concerns, among other reasons. We know that eventually, anyone claiming refugee status as a cover for alleged criminal activity will be ordered to leave the country. That’s how the system is supposed to work. But it can’t take months, and possibly years, for that to be determined. It has to happen immediately.

Certain matters need to be classified as a top priority. In this instance, I don’t think the CBSA should have to meet prosecutorial standards in terms of proving someone committed a crime in order to have their claim rendered null and void. Associating with a known criminal organization and/or terrorist entity should be sufficient reason to send a refugee claimant back from whence they came. We don’t want these people in Canada.

We know police are investigating dozens of other foreign nationals identified by the RCMP’s B.C. Extortion Task Force. And we can’t have these people using the same bogus, last-minute refugee-claimant loophole as a means of avoiding deportation.

Politicians say they are taking the matter seriously. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree recently released a statement to Global News saying extortion is a “serious crime” and those trying to delay removal from Canada “will face the full force of our immigration and criminal laws.”

Nice sounding words. But if it takes two years for the full force of those laws to be executed, it doesn’t work for Canadians. When it comes to dealing with individuals here on visas who are associating with a known criminal organization, we want them out – now.