TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Canadian authorities have ordered the deportation of 160 illegal Chinese immigrants.

The news comes following China’s detention of a third Canadian citizen over recent weeks in retaliation to Canada’s apprehension of a Huawei Technologies senior official.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom giant, was arrested earlier this month on an extradition request from the U.S., accused of deceiving American investors over the company’s business in Iran. Since, Beijing has responded by arresting three Canadian national living in China.

According to Liberty Times, media reports are suggesting Canada has now ordered the deportation of 160 Chinese citizens detained by authorities who illegally obtained residency rights in the country.

The media reports say the Canadian Border Services Agency previously discovered no less than 566 Chinese nationals exploiting a program that confers foreign investors residency rights for operating a business in the country by registering businesses at the address of a travel company owned by a pair of Chinese siblings. Authorities say a total of 1028 Chinese nationals abused the program to illegally obtain residency rights between 2008 and 2015.

The program was offered by Prince Edward Island, a maritime province on Canada’s southeast coast.

Foreign nationals who fully or partially invested in a local business, or established a new one in the area, were conferred residency rights, as long as they lived in a household on Prince Edward Island and remained within the country for more than half of each year. Business operators were also required to invest in government bonds, and initial funding for companies could not fall short of CAD$75,000 (US$56,000).

The siblings involved in the immigration fraud have been charged with three counts of illegal activity. Canadian authorities previously deported 81 Chinese nationals involved in such schemes, but now plan to expel an extra 160.

After facing heavy criticism from both the Canadian government and the outside world, authorities on Prince Edward Island have shut down the program, aligning its immigration policy with the rest of the country.