The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has deported a senior Iranian official after a Federal Court judge rejected his bid to halt his removal from Canada.
The CBSA confirmed in an Aug. 18 email to The Epoch Times that it removed Syed Salman Samani after the Federal Court of Canada dismissed his appeal.
Justice Sébastien Grammond noted that Samani, 45, was deputy minister and spokesperson in Iran’s Ministry of Interior and wielded significant power and influence. The ministry oversees the country’s police forces, which killed civilians and committed other human rights abuses during “Bloody November” in 2019.
As the ministry’s spokesperson, Samani publicly defended the government’s conduct during Bloody November and threatened politicians who questioned it, Grammond wrote. Samani later told the CBSA that his ministry had done nothing wrong during the clampdown.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada determined in 2024 that Samani was “inadmissible” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The CBSA said the board ordered Samani’s removal because he was “a prescribed senior official in the service of a designated regime.” Ottawa designated Iran’s regime in 2022 as one that engages in terrorism and systemic or gross human rights violations, making senior officials who served in the regime from June 23, 2003, onward inadmissible to Canada.
Samani resigned his positions with the Iranian regime in October 2021, entered Canada on a visitor visa, and has remained ever since, according to the judge’s decision.
“Our strong response to suspected senior officials in the Iranian regime remains in place and the CBSA continues to take action to stop them from seeking or finding safe haven in Canada,” the CBSA email said.
The CBSA added that while a person’s border and immigration information is considered private, the agency “may confirm specific removals of foreign nationals when the public interest in disclosure demonstrably outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result.”
Judge’s Decision
In his decision, Justice Grammond said Samani had to show that his removal would cause “irreparable harm”—harm that could not be remedied if he ultimately succeeded in his underlying appeal.
Samani argued that returning to Iran would put him at risk of arrest, torture, or death because authorities would discover that he now opposed the regime, Grammond wrote.
The federal government countered that there was no evidence Iranian authorities were interested in Samani, since they had taken no action against him or his family since he left Iran. There was also no indication authorities would discover anything suggesting he was a defector.
“In my view, the truth lies somewhere between the parties’ extreme assertions,” Grammond said.
While Iranian authorities would likely scrutinize Samani because of his former senior government role, the judge found a “relatively low likelihood” they would consider him a genuine opponent or defector.
Grammond pointed out that the record shows the CBSA removed another Iranian national after he was found inadmissible, but there was no evidence Iranian authorities tortured or “significantly harmed” him.
Samani also argued that his mental health had deteriorated during the removal proceedings. He suffers from major depressive disorder and has expressed ongoing suicidal thoughts, telling the court he would rather take his own life than return to Iran, Grammond wrote.
His psychiatrist did not provide a prognosis of recovery despite treatment, but the federal government argued that case law did not establish suicidal ideation caused solely by impending removal as irreparable harm; Grammond agreed.
“In the end, I find that Canada’s interest in removing those responsible for systematic human rights violations outweighs Mr. Samani’s relatively low likelihood of harm upon returning to Iran,” the judge added.
House of Commons Committee
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration issued a report from its March 9 meeting examining the presence of Iranian regime and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents in Canada, Canada’s immigration system, and the potential threat Iranian officials pose.
The committee called on the federal government to expedite the deportation of non-citizen Iranian regime and IRGC officials and close immigration-law gaps that could allow them to avoid detection or removal.
It also called for a review of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, including measures to prevent regime officials from avoiding deportation.
Further, the committee wanted the government to explain within 30 days why it had not publicly identified known non-citizen Iranian regime officials or agents in Canada and called for in-person interviews before approving refugee claims from countries with regimes hostile to Canada.
The committee added that Ottawa should review any proposed changes to ensure they comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada’s international legal obligations.
Questioning Officials
During the March 9 committee meeting, members questioned the head of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board and a senior border agency official.
Officials said they did not have data on how many IRGC-connected Iranians were awaiting deportation or had asylum claims. They also said the board is legally required to protect the identities of refugee claimants and that deportation depends on an individual’s “degree of involvement” in the Iranian regime’s decision-making.
Officials said some Iranian asylum claims had been adjudicated through a paper-based process known as a file review, while changes to immigration law would be up to Parliament. They added that the immigration minister is informed when files are on track for a paper-based decision.
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