–envoy warns Guyanese living in the US

THERE has been no significant increase of late in the deportation of Guyanese nationals from the US.
And neither have there been any complaints of Guyanese citizens’ rights being violated since the coming into force early in the year of new immigration laws in the US under the Trump administration, says Guyana’s envoy to the US, Dr. Riyad Insanally.
“What I can tell you quite safely is that the deportations that were taking place before, we haven’t seen a significant increase in deportation since then,” he told the Guyana Chronicle last week at the conclusion of a five-day conference of heads of mission at the Pegasus Hotel.

He did say, however, that there is some amount of uncertainty about the whole deportation issue, particularly in light of new executive orders signed by President Trump which in effect take a hardened approach to the country’s policies regarding legal and illegal immigration.
“There is a bit of uncertainty, and a bit of panic in certain quarters,” Dr Insanally said, since there are concerns among some sections of the US Diaspora about whether they are at risk; whether people would be rounded up; and that there would be mass deportation.
And while the uncertainty is not as pronounced in the Guyanese community, Ambassador Insanally said that should our nationals be caught up in the dragnet for whatever reason, he is hoping that due process will be followed.

He said that based on discussions he’s had with US officials, “We expect that our people are entitled to due process, and that their rights will be respected, as respect must be shown for the laws of the US.”
Under the new regulations, anyone charged with, or convicted of, any criminal offense will face deportation. People with deportation orders will also be picked up, regardless of whether they have a criminal record or not.
Under federal law, the US government can quickly deport undocumented immigrants without allowing them to go before a judge.

In this new dispensation, however, the Trump administration said it will use the law to kick people out, and tackle a backlog of more than half a million cases in immigration court.
In the meantime, Dr Insanally said the embassy and consulate-general in New York are providing every assistance they can to persons in need of immigration advice.
“We have been advising our people to make sure their papers are in order,” he said. “If they need to get anything regularised, they can come into the embassy, or the consulate-general in New York and get their papers regularised.”

If, for example, he said, someone is a permanent resident in the US, and eligible for their citizenship, then they are being encouraged to go ahead and get the process done.
Citizens, he said, also need to remember to abide by the laws of the land in which they live. “We are advising them to do just that; and if we can help with paperwork, we will do that,” Dr Insanally said.
Persons are also being advised to seek legal advice on any immigration matter regarding their various concerns.
He said that the consulate-general can help in this regard to some degree, as they have a compiled lists of agencies that could deal with those immigration concerns.