GLARING cases of human trafficking and illegal immigration through Guyana’s borders have prompted the Ministry of Citizenship to employ counter measures, and to be even more vigilant.

Though not pointing fingers at any one nationality in particular, Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix said the department currently has all eyes on illegalities, and that in time it will be able to ‘definitely pinpoint’ who the guilty parties are.
From all accounts, however, among those shown in the past to have been habitually charged with entering Guyana illegally are Haitians, Colombians, Chinese, Surinamese, and even Venezuelans.
Then last year, the minister had announced that Guyana may well be home to some 5,300 illegal immigrants, and that every effort will be made to get the Immigration Department extra manpower to root them out. He even gave reason as to why this was happening.
“The flow of illegal immigrants to Guyana is as a result of the pull factor in certain developed countries,” Minister Felix had said, adding:
“But stringent checks at certain ports have forced these illegal immigrants to use Guyana as a transit point… Unfortunately, quite a number of them remain in this country.”
He made the point, too, that illegal immigrants put additional pressure on government resources, as while they’re free to utilise our services, there’s no pressure on them to pay taxes.
Given that accessing Guyana is easier from neighbouring countries like Suriname, Brazil and Venezuela, immigration officers are now on the alert for ‘illegals’, and working to ensure that all protocols and procedures are observed at the borders.
Asked whether he believes that some immigration officers might be encouraging illegalities, Felix said that there is a strong ‘possibility’ that this might very well be the case.
But he gave every assurance that the ministry fully intends to probe every instance where there is an indication that an immigration officer might be “out of order”.
And once proven guilty, those officers will be dealt with condignly, Minister Felix warned.
While efforts are afoot to correct the problems, the Ministry and other stakeholders are working to strengthen the system by introducing the E-visa.
The visa will be electronic in nature, in that to the naked eye, it would seem that there is no label or stamp on the passport.
However, it will be easily discernible to officials at ports of entry with the appropriate electronic device at their disposal.
According to Minister Felix, the visas at reference were earmarked as the source for correcting the “many issues” associated with Guyana’s current visa system.
“It will serve us well, given that they will ensure that persons entering Guyana for work are properly screened and vetted,” he said, adding:
“And the recommendations will ensure that the policy is set straight for travellers and airlines.”