FEARING DEPORTATION

Mar 14, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Since President Trump issued his first executive order to protect the United States from foreign terrorist entry into the country, many Guyanese fear being deported especially since Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officials have deported many illegals from the country.

It was perhaps the harshest executive order signed by a US President. It banned travelers who are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days; barred admission of refugees from Syria from entering the US indefinitely and attempted to suspend U.S. admission of refugees from any other country.

President Trump has claimed that his executive order is not a travel ban on Muslims, but many believed that it was part of his election campaign to ban Muslims from entering the US. They are outraged over the fact that the seven countries from which the executive order restricts travel to the U.S. are all Muslim-majority nations.

The executive order resulted in green-card holders or permanent residents mostly Muslims being detained at U.S. airports. However, federal judges in New York, Seattle, Washington and Baltimore succeeded in blocking the deportation of people in the U.S. with valid visas or refugee status. The Justice Department filed an appeal, but it was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Six weeks after the signing of the original executive order which caused chaos at airports nation-wide, President Trump signed a new executive order on March 6 that bans immigration from six Muslim-majority countries—Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iraq which was included inthe previous order, was removed from the list due to pressure from senior national security officials who argued that the restriction could adversely affect US security relations with Iraq as a key anti-ISIS partner.

The new order takes effect on March 16. It explicitly stated all lawful permanent residents from the six banned countries or who have valid visas to enter the US, including those whose visas were revoked during the original executive order will be allowed in the U.S. However, it bars new visa seekers from the six majority-Muslim countries for 90 days and suspended refugees from those countries for 120 days.

The executive order also suspends the U.S. Visa Interview Waiver Programme, which is designed to make it easier for some travelers to enter the U.S. without being re-interviewed. The order made it clear that the US will not compromise on its security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information needed to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism.

The order allows for the arrest and removal of those convicted of a crime or charged with one, or those who have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation before a government body, abused a public benefits programme, have a final order of removal or in the judgment of an immigration officer pose a risk to public safety or national security. However, many have been arrested and deported by ICE for non-felony offences including illegal entry into the country, violation of visas protocols, driving without a license or using a fake Social Security number.

The deportation of several persons from the neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Richmond Hill and Ozone Park by ICE has driven fear and heightened tension among many Guyanesemost of whom lived in those localities. While Guyanese are not the focus of the immigration crackdown, those who are illegal or have committed crimes are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being deported. Some have quit their jobs and have not ventured out in the streets or even to the barber shops or grocery stores.

Others have sneaked across the Canadian borders late at night into Canada. Businesses in the Richmond Hill area are feeling the effects of a decline in sales. However, in an attempt to calm their fears, the Guyana Consulate has urged those with immigration problems to call its office.

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FEARING DEPORTATION

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