De Freitas, Nakhid, Deyalsingh differ on Immigration Bill

SENATE Vice-President Nigel De Freitas, Opposition Senator David Nakhid and Independent Senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh expressed differing perspectives on the Immigration (Caribbean Community Skilled Nationals) (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

They were contributing to debate on the bill in the Senate on Tuesday.

De Freitas joined Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne and Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon in rejecting claims from opposition senators Wade Mark and Damian Lyder that the bill would encourage voter-padding in favour of the PNM and cause Caricom immigrants to deny jobs to TT unemployed nationals.

De Freitas could not understand how Mark would believe that Caricom nationals would come to Trinidad and Tobago simply to vote for a party they knew nothing about.

''It is nonsense. Feats of imagination and works of fiction."

He described comments by Lyder about Caricom nationals depriving citizens of jobs as bordering on being disrespectful and discriminatory.

"Times are hard for everybody. We are still in a pandemic and dealing with the threat of war."

Nakhid maintained the bill was a political Trojan horse to help the PNM politically. Quoting Russian writer Anton Chekhov, he said, "Common hypocrites pass themselves off as doves; political and literary hypocrites pose as eagles. But don't be fooled by their eagle-like appearance. These are not eagles, but rats or dogs."

Nakhid wondered if Caricom nationals who are allowed to come to TT under this bill would be used to shore up political support in PNM constituencies.

He also claimed the Government was divorced from the reality of what was happening on the ground.

"We are faced with a job market that is in tatters."

He told senators he has relatives who are nurses and his niece is a nurse who migrated to England recently.

"Two weeks later, two of her friends followed."

While reiterating the UNC's support for Caribbean integration, Nakhid said,"You cannot bring migrants into a situation where they are forced to survive."

He warned this could worsen crime.

He asked the Government to show how the legislation would ensure that unemployed citizens would be able to find work.

Deyalsingh said he has always been supportive of Caribbean integration, having worked in other parts of the region during his professional career. While he had no problem in principle with skilled Caricom nationals coming into TT to find work, Deyalsingh suggested there should be some checks and balances to ensure the right people are allowed to enter. He was uncertain whether TT had recovered sufficiently or economically from the covid19 pandemic to be making this kind of legislation a priority.

"We are still catching ourselves."