Judge stops deportation of 4 Venezuelans

A judge has stopped the State from deporting two Venezuelan women and two children who are detained at the State’s migrant detention facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas.

Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams on Tuesday granted the restraining order after hearing submissions from attorneys representing the group on Monday.

The four were part of a larger group of 25 who returned to TT illegally on November 24, last year.

The 25 were quarantined at the state-controlled quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas. Most of them received orders from various judges preventing their deportation until their constitutional challenges were determined by the court.

In December, applications were made for four women and five children since they were not covered by previous orders for interim relief granted by the other judges. Justice Ricky Rahim granted the interim injunctions for the nine until the Court of Appeal heard and determined the matter of an 11-year-old girl who was part of the group that entered TT illegally in November.

The four were among the nine who received the temporary reprive from Rahim.

On December 22, the Appeal Court gave its decision.

In their application, attorneys for the group said a letter was sent to the chief immigration officer seeking their release, but on January 14 the legal officer for the immigration division told them deportation orders were issued for the two women.

The application accused the State of attempting to evade the court’s processes.

“The exceptional circumstances of this case requiring the immediate intervention of the court is that if the claimants are deported or in any other way removed from the jurisdiction before the application for constitutional relief is determined, the court will be deprived of the ability to grant effective relief to the claimants,” the application said.

On Tuesday, Quinlan-Williams ordered that the matter be deemed urgent and ordered the filing of submissions so that she can give her decision on March 5.

The four are represented by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen, Dayadai Harripaul, Umesh Maharaj, and Nerisa Bala.

On December 31, some of the children and a few mothers were released from the heliport where they were under quarantine.