In the past 10 years, over 4,000 T&T nationals were deported from the United States (US), Canada and the UK. The rise in deportees came as a consequence of amendments to each country’s respective immigration legislation. For example, the US passed the Illegal Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IRIRA) and the Anti-Terrorism Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in the 1990s, which all had serious repercussions for lawful permanent residents or green card holders.
Under this specific legislation, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was granted unfettered powers, basically allowing it to reclassify minor crimes such as petty theft, shoplifting, drug infractions and drunk driving as deportable offences. Previously, only aggravated felonies such as rape and kidnapping were deportable offences.
The USA Patriot Act, passed after the 9/11 terrorism incidents in New York, also had serious consequences for migrants suspected of being involved in plotting, inciting or aiding terrorism acts.
Statistics obtained from the US Department of State’s Homeland Security show that during a ten-year period from 2001-2010, some 72,371 people with Caribbean links were deported back to their home countries. Of this figure, 44,422 of them were deported for criminal offences. There were 4,218 Trinis among those deported and 2,433 of them were deported for criminal offences.
In the past year, according to records from the Ministry of National Security, there were approximately 175 nationals who were sent back to T&T. According to the ministry, the Government has a Memorandum of Understanding with the governments of the UK, USA and Canada regarding the sharing of information about deportees and the crimes committed in these countries. This information is shared prior to the arrival of the deportees in T&T.
On arrival in this country, deportees are first interviewed by Immigration authorities, then Special Branch and Social Welfare Officers. In addition, the Ministry of the People and Social Development has a Social Displacement Unit that assesses a deportee’s varied needs, best interests and welfare in this country after a comprehensive examination.
Deportees are assisted with housing, identification cards, employment opportunities and educational opportunities, apart from being reconnected with relatives who may still be residing in T&T. Non-governmental organisations such as Vision on Mission, Living Waters Community and St Vincent De Paul also play an integral role in the resettlement and reintegration of the deportees into the society.
Helpless feeling
One deportee, Dave Douglas, 53, of Curepe, was deported from Los Angeles, California, after he served time for domestic violence. He described his return to T&T as “being snatched from Africa and sent to T&T as an outcast and a slave.” Douglas left Trinidad at age 18 in 1978 seeking a better life. But some 27 years later he got into trouble with the law and in October 2010 was deported to Trinidad. Douglas left his seven children behind in the US.
“Being sent back here was one of the worst feelings,” he told the Sunday Guardian. “I was placed on an American Airlines flight with two US marshals, one on each side of me. I was handcuffed. “I felt equated to slaves being snatched from Africa. When I arrived in Piarco I met with customs officials and then I was allowed to leave with no money. I had nothing.”
After four years, Douglas said, he was yet to adopt to the T&T lifestyle and he was finding life very hard. He is still seeking residence at St Vincent de Paul’s in Port-of-Spain. “When I was back home (in the US) I worked as a Class 1 machinist on several US government projects. Compared to here in Trinidad, it is very tough for me. “No one wants to hire me and I am forced to work as a security guard off and on. Readjusting is very hard.”
Douglas said he grieved because of his children and was praying his life would get better one day. Another deportee, Steve Charles, 61, returned to Trinidad about six months ago, having been deported from the US. Charles called on the Government to implement effective and efficient programmes to properly reintegrate deportees into society. “It is really hard for us. When we come here in Trinidad, we feel lost,” Charles said.
“There needs to be programmes to help us in education and training and proper employment opportunities for us so we don’t have to resort to crime and living on the streets, because this is so easy for some of us to do. We just want to live our lives as the average T&T citizen.”
Lack of funding
Supervisor at the St Vincent de Paul home, Selwyn Coutain, admitted that the organisation was going through a tough period but was continuing its efforts to assist the needy, including deportees. “We are not getting the required subsidies to have this place running properly,” Coutain said.
“Staff haven’t gotten a raise of pay for the past eight years and they are still coming out to assist with the residents, and that by itself is a risk for everyone because we are all exposed to residents who have contracted diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/Aids, herpes and scabies. “We don’t have the proper health care protection and equipment. We also have no insurance.”
According to the Vision on Mission’s Web site, many deportees encounter major difficulties in adjusting after incarceration or upon return to T&T, especially when it came to reconnecting with their families, adjusting to their new environment, finding employment and accommodation.
“Some have even experienced severe mental breakdown as a result of the transition and separation from the families or loved ones they were forced to leave behind. A large number of deportees are unskilled and need to be trained or retrained to work within the society. They may also be plagued with substance abuse and health problems, which may require special dietary needs,” the Web site noted.
Regional problem
In the most recent Caricom Crime and Security Report, criminal deportees were widely viewed as the major force driving the increasing rate of violent crime, introducing new types of crime and generally extending the criminal repertoire of local criminals. The report said it was believed that they helped to extend and intensify the transnational links of ordinary criminals, and were involved in organising and facilitating the trafficking in illegal drugs and firearms.
The report added that deportees presented a new and special danger to Caribbean societies, but the already high levels of unemployment in some of the territories; limited opportunities for acquiring new skills; the stigma of criminal deportation; and difficulty in starting a new, conventional life made the reintegration of a deportee into society difficult.