Source: 100 V'zuelans to be deported on Saturday

ATTORNEYS for the group of Venezuelans who are facing deportation after the Court of Appeal halted the temporary reprieve they received earlier this week are again demanding that the National Security Minister direct the chief immigration officer to release their clients.

They have also asked that the minister hold his hand on vetoing their conditional release if the chief immigration officer chooses to release them of her on volition.

Up to 5 pm on Friday, the group was still at the heliport although sources said steps were being taken by the authorities to have the Galleons Passage readied for their deportation. Newsday was told “normal checks” were done late Friday and approximately 100 migrants will be deported on the Galleons Passage on Saturday morning.

In a letter to the minister’s legal team on Friday, attorneys of the law firm Quantum Legal referred to another case involving a group of migrants who allegedly witnessed the shooting of a nine-month-old minor in February 2022.

The group, excluding the child’s mother, were deported on February 11, 2022. The child’s mother, father and sibling have since relocated to Canada, their attorney Criston J Williams confirmed last year.

They accused the minister of engaging in a “pattern of behaviour,” contending, “To put it simply: no witnesses, no allegation of gross violations of human rights or the least number of witnesses, the greater the ability to cover gross violations of human rights.

“This allegation finds favour as the allegations(s) of gross violations stem from servants and/or agents of the minister; the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Gard, and activities at ‘The Heliport’ Chaguaramas.”

Also attached to the letter was correspondence from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) which provided a list of the status of those who sought refugee/asylum seeker status.

“We now once again contend that the minister is in a ‘catch-22’ position. The minister has two choices, either deport, or you do not deport.

“Should you deport anyone on the listing, whatever position you rely on in the local courts, please note this shall be a prime example of non-refoulement and its principles and shall damage the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s international image.”

The letter warned that if any of the migrants listed as asylum seekers or refugees were deported, “this shall have a detrimental effect” on TT.

The attorneys also posited that they were “sure” the secretary general of the UN General Assembly would “at some time respond to the deporting of the 33 asylum-seekers and in particular two fully registered refugees” by the minister.

The letter also said should they be deported, it would be a breach of their access to justice as they have alleged human rights violations and sexual abuse by agents of the State during their detention at the heliport.

“Expelling the respondents at this stage we also say is counterproductive, considering the porous nature of our borders,” they also added.

On Tuesday, hours after Justice Ricky Rahim ordered the immediate release of 64 Venezuelans who were detained on July 9, and temporarily gave them a reprieve by preventing their immediate deportation, attorneys for the National Security Minister swiftly moved to appeal the decision.

Only 30 of them were released before immigration officers were ordered to stop releasing any more migrants.

Friday’s letter said some of those who were conditionally released and put on orders of supervision left behind family members who are still at the heliport. One of them is the mother of a 14-year-old who remains detained although her teenage daughter was released.

“The action(s)/inaction of the Ministry of National Security in this regard has led to the separation of a minor child from her primary caregiver, who likely shall be deported without the said minor, and this is only one such example.

“We have reports that there are other individuals detained at the Heliport, for whom we do not appear that shall also be separated from their children who reside in Trinidad, should they be deported.”

The group were among almost 200 who were held at a bar in St James on July 9.

The issue of non- refoulment was raised by another judge last month in a ruling also involving the deportation of Venezuelan migrants Justice Frank Seepersad had ruled that the obligations enumerated under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the principle of non-refoulment do not apply to them as there has been no domestic incorporation.

However, the attorneys said the Government must strive to uphold the highest standards of human rights protection for all migrants.

Also representing the group along with Williams are attorneys Blaine Sobrian and Shivanand Mohan.