Several incidents over the past two weeks involving the current global issue of migration, human rights and the effects of transnational organised crimes in Trinidad and Tobago have heightened public concerns and interest as to whether or not this government has a well defined policy and strategy to effectively manage and upgrade the Immigration Department to a world class level.The answer may simply be "it is a work in progress." The lack of such clearly defined policies, accountability and monitoring mechanisms has led to some officials making their own policies and consequently lend itself to corrosive activities.
Incidents involving the alleged sarcastic treatment of a Caricom and Belizean national by some ill-trained immigration officers, apparent illegal detention of Chinese nationals, some of whom have applied for permanent residence, as well as the very serious allegations of a convergence and nexus of involvement of immigration and national security officials in the lucrative Chinese migration to Trinidad and Tobago clearly suggests the need for national enquiry. As a matter of fact, the latter issue appears to be occurring in flagrant disrespect of both Ministers in the Ministry of National Security, Brigadier John Sandy and Subhas Panday, the line minister responsible for immigration. Whether or not these two ministers and their advisers are au courant with the modus operandi of the Immigration Department is another matter, and these challenges certainly are not new. It should also be noted that the Immigration Department has been used as a political tool on many occasions.
Furthermore, recent statements by the Minister of Labour Errol Mc Leod and independent senator's Dr Rolph Balgobin's suggest grave concerns for firstly, the illegality of migrant labour, and second, of the allegation of money laundering activities, the convergence of what appears to be the nexus of official involvement and usage of government documents in support of illegitimate activities. In light of these illegitimate activities and which run counter to both our domestic and international obligations, what is the Chief Immigration Officer, Guy Benjamin doing about these serious allegations festering, yet lucrative activities? Has Benjamin turned a blind eye to these matters of national security import? Benjamin has been in the department for more than 25 years and must be held accountable for what transpires under his control.
Mission and vision statement
The department's mission statement seeks "to promote national security by effectively monitoring and controlling the movement of persons into, within and out of the country and to provide an efficient and effective passport service. Despite this and it's vision statement "to be the premier Immigration Division in the Caribbean and to be a leader in public service reform," this column finds it extremely difficult to understand how those in charge of Immigration can reconcile these two lofty ideals. On many occasions the public is treated with scant courtesy, lack of respect, impolite behaviour, diminished sense of professionalism, and very poor knowledge of what really constitutes genuine immigration work.
Immigration sources and weekly newspapers report that the very work and functions of the Immigration Department appears to be compromised with numerous officials benefiting greatly from these illegitimate activities of granting residences, extensions, human trafficking and prostitution. Such involvement has endangered our national security, compromised our obligations and shatters our intelligence capabilities.
Need for accountability
The era of globalisation has ushered in the vast phenomenon of population movement. Reasons for this movement are several and complex. In order to cope with the scale of this phenomenon, the immigration laws of Trinidad and Tobago will need to be flexible. It is critical for legislators to identify the dominant national and international trends affecting immigration and to reconcile these trends with the fundamental values of Trinidad and Tobago-its absorptive capacity, its needs, and the major principles for the design and operation of public programmes. Significantly, it ought to be borne in mind that immigration and refugee law is not merely a set of technical rules and instrumental devices that can be manipulated to achieve a variety of ends.
These immigration legislations must be seen as a set of doctrines that attempts to encapsulate a vision of how Trinidad and Tobago sees itself as a community within a larger community. The manner of treatment meted out to foreigners reveals many basic aspects of our sense of justice, as the cases of Bernie Campbell, American political strategist, the Belizean national, and also many of the immigrant detainees housed at the Immigration Detention Centre, in Aripo. As such, there is increasing demand for clear and transparent legislation.
At the same time, there is the requirement to establish lines of accountability within the legislation, so that those using the system have recourse whenever a problem arises. In order to recognise the human element in the process, it is important that legislation be flexible enough to accommodate unforeseen circumstances without compromising the integrity of the entire system. In developing a new legislative framework, it is important to have clear objectives, basic principles and accountability mechanisms which reflect the current state of migration in the world. In any western democracy, a citizen is entitled to ask two basic questions concerning any piece of legislation. First, what is it the law is designed to accomplish, and second, what evidence is there that this goal is being achieved.
Citizens must be able to understand how these programmes are being monitored, analysed and reported, so that they can understand and participate in the debate on the impact of policy decisions and development of new initiatives. This requires incorporating into the legislation a discipline that ensures statutory, regulatory and programme accountability.
To be continued....