Slashing immigration targets will put people already here in 'precarious' positions, says group

Last month, the federal government announced new, tighter rules around immigration and the temporary foreign worker program.

But now advocates say those rules are hurting people who are already here.

"The only impact of these measures is to create more people without status or precarious status. So they run, they are not fixing anything. They are only creating more problems," said Manuel Salamanca Cardona, a community organizer at the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC).

The centre helps migrants and temporary foreign workers get out of abusive work situations.

"On their work permit, the name of their employer is written. They can't change their work permit. That means that even if they live terrible conditions as we have seen here — extremely long working days, unpaid hours, psychological and sexual harassment, etc. — they will not complain because they are afraid that they will be deported. They are afraid that their permit will not be renewed," said Susana Ponte Rivera, a member of the IWC's women's committee.

Ponte Rivera says women with short-term status are particularly vulnerable to abuse, including Chrystal, who is a victim of domestic violence and unable to get housing on her own.

"We live every day with fear ... and the feeling of being invisible," she told CTV News.

One advocate says stories like hers get lost in the political rhetoric.

"What the federal government believes our immigration regime is, is like a faucet. It's a tap you can turn on and off, despite the realities that people will face," said Mostafa Henaway, a community organizer with IWC.

"People can't go back to countries like Congo, people can't go back to Nigeria."

The fear is that tighter rules will lead to an increase in abuse. And people who already have little to no recourse will go on suffering in silence.