?Trinidad and Tobago recognises the sovereign rights of the United States - or any other country - to grant or deny entry of nationals of other countries into the US, says Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses.
Moses made that clear yesterday, as he replied to a query in the Senate on concerns about T&T green card holders seeking to re-enter the US if they visit T&T for Carnival 2017.
The query was posed by Independent Senator Taurel Shrikissoon.
Yesterday, the T&T Guardian reported on concerns by the National Carnival Development Foundation about very slow masquerader registration for Carnival bands and reasons contributing to this - particularly regarding overseas mas players.
Apart from, local crime, it was noted that some masqueraders based in the Diaspora may be concerned about possible difficulties to return to the US following the new Donald Trump administration's visa band on seven countries. This was instituted last weekend in a bid to shut down terrorism.
Further fears in the Diaspora that T&T may be red-flagged by US authorities, have also been fuelled by last weekend's comments by MSNBC commentator Malcolm Nance's comments on the US visas ban.
During the US election campaign, Trump had also promised deportation of undocumented people and his administration last week began looking at cutting funding from US "sanctuary" cities which don't comply with deportation, US media reported.
Those areas include New York - which has a large T&T population - Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other areas.
Apart from T&T's mas fraternity, the T&T Tour Operators' Association and T&T Hotel and Tourism Association, noting the US situation, have said they are also researching how US executive orders may affect Carnival visitors.
On queries about green card holders' re-entering the US, Moses said T&T's diplomatic missions stand ready to assist "regarding the interests of nationals by providing consulate services as required."
In response to a question by Shrikissoon, Moses said they had no assessment of the likely impact of the US' executive orders on Carnival visitor arrivals.
On whether T&T had any intention to meet with the US on the situation and nationals' re-entry concerns, Moses said, "The underlying assumptions, I am not enabled to respond in the direction contemplated."