-Campbell demands details on identities, backgrounds of deportees
APNU Member of Parliament Terrence Campbell has warned the Government against accepting third-country nationals removed from the United States without greater public disclosure, noting the lack of information about the individuals and the agreement under which they were brought to Guyana.
“If you’re not good for the United States, you’re not good for Guyana,” Campbell said at an APNU press conference yesterday.
“It is said they are Cubans and Afghans amongst the initial deportees. A decision to accept the rejects of any country around the world, it doesn’t go well with me. That is not the Guyana we want to build,” he expressed.
Kiskadee Watch had attempted to reach Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud for comment but was unsuccessful. A visit was also made to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Duke Street, Kingston on September 8, but this also yielded no information. There, Kiskadee Watch was told to email the officer dealing with public relations, Jorge Gallo, but no response has been received to date.
Meanwhile, Campbell said yesterday that even if the Government decides to participate in such an arrangement, it should not do so without public involvement and transparency. “Such a decision should not be made in the dark corridors of government,” he said. “It ought to be a transparent decision not made by the government alone but a decision where the people of this country are involved.”
Guyana recently confirmed that six third-country nationals – four Cubans and two Afghans – have been accepted from the United States under a one-year migration cooperation framework. The six arrived in Guyana on September 4, one day before the Government publicly announced the arrangement.
The Government has described those accepted under the framework as vetted, skilled and non-criminal individuals and said Guyana retains full discretion to approve or reject anyone proposed for relocation.
President Irfaan Ali has said the United States cannot simply send people to Guyana and that local authorities receive information on proposed transferees before conducting their own health and security assessments. Only individuals formally approved by Guyana can be transferred, he said.
The Government has also said the United States will bear the cost of the relocation process, while the IOM office will arrange accommodation, basic support and other services. The arrangement is described as temporary and does not constitute permanent resettlement.
Campbell, however, said Guyanese have not been given enough information about the people being accepted or the terms governing their presence here. “We do not have any details of who these people are, their background,” he said, adding, “They must have broken the laws of the United States in some form or fashion, otherwise they could not be deported.”
He also questioned the legal and operational arrangements governing the programme.
“We have no idea as to who they are, we have no idea about the agreements that have been signed with the United States,” he said, as the full agreement has not been made public.
Ali has maintained that “nothing is hidden” about the arrangement and said the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations was invited to meet with him to discuss the matter, among other foreign-policy issues.
Campbell nevertheless cautioned the Government against proceeding further without greater scrutiny. “I would like to caution the government that they should not proceed along this road because it is extremely dangerous for our society,” he said.
The Government has said the six were removed primarily for immigration-related reasons and were found to have no criminal records, meaning deportation from the United States does not in itself establish that they committed a criminal offence.
Meanwhile, Opposition MPs Sherod Duncan and Amanza Walton-Desir have separately called for the agreement to be published and for details on the programme to be disclosed to Parliament.
The Guyana Human Rights Association has also called for publication of the full agreement, raising questions about its legal basis and the treatment and rights of people transferred to Guyana.
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