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DEPORTATION
According to statistics from the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, since the late 1970s the United States has deported more immigrants than any other country. Many have committed serious crimes, others have entered the country illegally, and some have breached the conditions of their visa and overstayed. Data revealed that the Obama administration deported more people than any other in history. In fact, it has deported more people than the total of all presidents of the twentieth century.
Deportation is the removal of a person from a country, simply because his/her presence is deemed inconsistent with the public welfare and is part of the punishment imposed on them.
All countries reserve the right to deport persons, even those who are longtime residents and possesses permanent residency. Deportation is done by governments, and is often subject to a simpler legal process, or in some cases none, with reduced or no right to trial, legal representation or appeal due to the subject’s lack of citizenship. However, based on US immigration laws, a naturalized citizen should not be deported, but the United States has on several occasions violated that principle by deporting naturalized citizens.
During his eight years in office, the George W. Bush administration deported over two million people. In contrast, between 2009 and 2015, the Obama administration removed more than 2.5 million people from the US. These numbers do not reflect Obama’s last year in office for which data is not yet available. It is estimated that 86 percent of all persons deported from the United States since 1992 were criminals who were involved in murders, trafficking of illegal drugs, armed robbery or terrorist acts. And things are likely to get even more intense. Based on some recent statements by President-elect Donald Trump, his administration would likely deport two million immigrants during his first year in office.
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was formed as an agency within the newly created Homeland Security Department to monitor the flow of immigrants to the United States. Since then, ICE has deported millions of people to their native countries. In Latin America, the leading countries of origin for removals are Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In the Caribbean, most deportees are from Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Recently, President Granger stated that Guyana does not have the capability and the resources to manage a large number of deportees. He is attempting to work with the US to ensure that measures are put in place to make sure that the country is better prepared to handle deportees, especially if they are convicted crimes were in vain. However, he acknowledges that it is within the jurisdiction and the rights of the United States to deport those who have committed crimes in order to minimize the impact of violence and abuses in the country.
In 2015, ICE deported 235,413 and most of the deportees were criminals, of which 379 were Guyanese, and have met one or more of ICE’s criteria for deportation. On Tuesday last, the US continued its deportation of Guyanese by dumping 21 of them on Guyana’s soil thus increasing the total number for the year to 448.
While it is difficult to obtain information on the number of Guyanese deportees, it is estimated that since the creation of ICE, more than 3,500 Guyanese have been removed from the United States of which 94 percent were criminals. Many of the deportees migrated with their relatives as children to the US and therefore do not have any family connection in the country. While some will receive assistance from the public, others may turn to crime in order to survive which Guyana certainly cannot afford.
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