Canadian border agents are trying to track down almost 600 foreigners with criminal records who are due to be deported but have gone missing – 431 of whom have been found guilty of serious crimes such as sexual assault.

Figures from the Canada Border Services Agency show that 1,635 foreign nationals guilty of committing crimes in Canada are currently facing deportation, but 599 of them have failed to attend deportation proceedings and have been placed on the agency’s “wanted” list.

Of those 599, 315 have been evading deportation for more than three years. Another 46, according to CBSA figures obtained by The Globe and Mail, have been evading the authorities for more than two years.

A former lawyer for the City of Ottawa who desecrated the National Holocaust Monument by splashing it with red paint and scrawling the words FEED ME in large red block letters, has pleaded guilty to mischief and been released on bail to his parents’ house.

Iain Aspenlieder, who is expected to be sentenced later this year, last month vandalized the memorial to six million Jews killed by the Nazi regime. His lawyer said Friday that the act was an attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and was not motivated by hate.

Premiers said they plan to take more control over immigration as Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized the federal Immigration Minister and said he would be issuing his own work permits in the province.

At the conclusion of a three-day premiers’ meeting on Wednesday, provincial and territorial leaders called for an increase to economic immigration levels to meet their labour needs and said they would use powers under the Constitution to seize more control over immigration, including to issue work permits.