PROMINENT United States immigration attorneys Joan Pinnock and Wayne Golding will host an immigration seminar tomorrow at 112 Third and Albert Streets, Georgetown, above the Hot ‘N’ Spicy Restaurant. The event starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. The symposium will offer services to assist deportees in determining their eligibility to return to the U.S. Dubbed the Immigration Assistance for Guyanese, the event it is a pro bono initiative designed to assist deportees especially.
The initiative follows the first immigration symposium that was held at the sixth Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica during September last. Guyana is the second country where this will be held while plans are afoot to host seminars in Trinidad, Barbados and farther afield.
Two Jamaicans — Devon Cameron and his sister Donna Cameron — who were deported as children from Maryland, United States, 25 years ago, on drug-related offences returned on September 20, 2015 to the U.S. as citizens.
This was made possible through the assistance of the two Jamaica-born attorneys, Pinnock and Golding, Diaspora board members for the North East USA and South East, respectively. Ms Pinnock is also the President of Jamaican/American Bar Association. Mr. Golding is also President of the Caribbean Bar Association in Florida.
Ms. Pinnock said many deportees had left broken families behind and applying for admission to the U.S. after removal is a complicated and legally difficult process. As such, she said it was important that deportees wishing to re-enter the U.S. consult with an immigration attorney before submitting an application for permission to enter. “An immigration attorney can offer advice on the best way to improve your chances of approval through proper evidence,” Ms Pinnock said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data shows that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deported 414,481 people in fiscal year 2014, down from 438,421 the year before. Each year of the Obama administration has seen more deportations than any preceding president. The pre-Obama high of 358,886 removals in FY2008 came during President George W. Bush’s last full fiscal year in office. The lawyers will leave Guyana the day after the seminar.
