Venezuelan fined for illegally entering TT

A 21-year-old Venezuelan construction worker who admitted to illegally entering TT so that he can earn money to support his one-year-old son, has been given 45 days in which to pay a $2,500 fine.

Luir Rodriguez on Friday pleaded guilty to illegally entering the country and was fined by Port of Spain magistrate Sarah Da Silva.

In imposing the fine, Da Silva said she considered Rodriguez’s plea for leniency, the economic situation in Venezuela as well as the fact that he reported to the Immigration Division, although he entered TT without permission.

After pleading guilty, Rodriguez, assisted by a translator, told the court there was no food in Venezuela and like everyone else, he came to TT to work so he could help his son who is with his mother in Colombia.

“That is why I broke the laws,” he said. Rodriguez admitted to entering the country on December 4.

According to the facts, which were read out before sentencing, Rodriguez went to the Immigration Enforcement Unit on Henry Street, Port of Spain, on December 16, and when asked to produce identification to ascertain his status in TT, he could not do so.

He was detained by immigration officers and on December 18, the police began its investigations which included obtaining an Immigration Border Management System report to determine if Rodriguez was registered as having entered TT through legal ports of entry.

There was no record of him entering the country legally. The report was tendered into evidence.

Rodriguez said he worked at the Five Islands Waterpark in Chaguaramas as a construction worker and earned a salary of $1,500.