Dozens of lawyers and academics from across the country are urging Canadians not to vote Tory because the party's policies have been "unfriendly" to the immigrant community.

In a statement signed by about 40 of the country's leading lawyers and professors, the group tells newcomers to Canada that they shouldn't believe Conservative claims, accusing Immigration Minister Jason Kenney of "manipulating" statistics to suggest that the government has been improving the immigration system.

"A review of facts shows that this government's policies have not been friendly to immigrant communities. The Conservative government has made a habit of using immigration issues to stir up anti-immigrant sentiments amongst other Canadians," the group wrote in a lengthy statement outlining the Harper government's policies on immigration.

Lorne Waldman, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer, says the group has been talking to ethnic media outlets for weeks leading up to the May 2 vote.

cchai@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/carmen_chai

"Mr. Kenney has aggressively sought the ethnic vote and has tried to portray (the Tories) as being sympathetic to new Canadians. In my view, the reality is far from this," he said. "We felt it extremely important for the ethnic community to know the truth so they can make an informed decision instead of being misled by claims that aren't based on reality."

The group says that since the Conservatives took power, the processing time for visa applications for parents and grandparents has increased — although the party suggests the opposite. According to the statement, processing time for sponsorship increased by anywhere from nine to 30 months, depending on the visa post.

They accused the government of cutting settlement funding for immigrants. They also say that the government's "tough on human-smuggling" law only punishes refugees, since even women and children can be imprisoned for a minimum year under new laws.

"The government can make policy decisions and make policy choices and they should be accountable for decisions they make, but it's offensive when they try to disguise and mislead their policy choices," Waldman said.

"If you believe in the concept of family reunification — that is the ability of immigrants and Canadians to bring their parents, grandparents, children and spouses to Canada; if you believe in a fair and timely skilled worker program that recruits the best and the brightest from around the world to join our midst; if you believe in justice for refugees without automatic imprisonment; if you believe in spousal sponsorship processing that does not lead to the potential for greater spousal abuse and neglect, then you should not support the Conservative Party in the upcoming federal election on May 2," the statement reads.

Professors from the University of Toronto, McGill, University of Ottawa and Queen's University, along with lawyers from British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec have supported the statement.

Conservative spokesman Alykhan Velshi said the government welcomed more than 280,000 new permanent residents last year, the highest number in more than 50 years.

"There may be some who oppose our tough measures to crack down on human smuggling and fix our broken refugee system; some may even feel targeted by our crackdown on crooked immigration consultants," he said in an email.

"But that's no justification for denying that the Harper Conservatives have had a more generous policy towards legal immigration than any government in Canadian history."