CARICOM Summit : US immigration policy for discussion
CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque (Delano Williams Photo)
CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque (Delano Williams Photo)

…leaders to strategise ways to engage Trump

AS the United States’ (US) foreign policy on immigration continues to change, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will this week examine implications for the region before it attempts to engage the Donald Trump administration. Discussions will be held on the issue at the 28th Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, on February 16-17 in Georgetown. This is according to Secretary-General of the community, Irwin LaRocque who briefed members of the press conference at the CARICOM secretariat in Georgetown Monday.
According to him, one of the broader issues which will be discussed at the meeting later this week is international relations. “International affairs will engage our attention. Emerging issues on that front necessitate that the heads of government strategise how the interest of the community could be best served” LaRocque said.
When asked if one of the international issue will be the US’s immigration policy which has gripped international attention recently, the Secretary-General responded in the affirmative. He pointed out though, that this will fall within discussions which focus on the region’s relations with its international partners. “One of the broader issue we will be looking at is relations with our international partners. Of course, since there is a new administration in the United States, there will be discussions,” he confirmed.
Though he did not divulge much, LaRocque hinted that the discussion will centre on how the region, through CARICOM, can engage or advance issues that are of critical interest to it. He said that there are a number of interests, in relation to what the community will be pursuing internationally, that are presently being made public. He did not say what these are.
Additionally, the Secretary General noted that the regional block will be exploring ways to sensitise and engage the new US administration. “That will be the tenet of the discussions we will be having” LaRocque added.

Sir Ronald Sanders

Just recently, Joan Pinnock, of the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board in the US, shared that a lot of Caribbean nationals are “terrified” as they are uncertain about their status. President Trump has since said that he is going to remove 11 million undocumented people from the US. And according to Pinnock in Jamaica’s RJR news report, “our Caribbean people fall into that category”.
Supporting this view also, is career diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders, who has since said that Caribbean countries can expect to have an influx of undocumented immigrants based on President Trump’s immigration policy.
He reasoned that the only way this could be prevented is by these countries refusing to take them.
However, he pointed out that the consequence of that action is that the US will not grant visas of any kind to the nationals of the refusing countries, while there may be other sanctions.
To deal with this issue then, Sanders suggested that CARICOM countries consider the “immediate establishment” of national committees at senior levels to plan for an influx of undocumented immigrants from the US.
He also opined that these immigrants will be of all sorts, but the majority will be unskilled labourers, and many will be below the age of 40. Failure to plan, he added, could result in a sudden increase in the population of each country, driving up unemployment and crime and straining their health facilities. Additionally, he noted that areas of concern could include their capacity for delivering water and the capability of their courts, prisons and police.
“Individually and collectively, Caribbean governments have to engage the Trump Administration and the US Congress to discuss these worrying developments that have implications for the region, but also for the US” the diplomat said.
Sir Ronald Sanders is Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US and Organisation of American States; an international affairs consultant; as well as senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He previously served as ambassador to the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and as high commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK).

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