Threaten Immigration officers again and face criminal charges!
Police “sting” operations are ahead at ports of entry to nab anyone—local or foreign—who may be seeking to intimidate Immigration officers, National Security Minister Stuart Young announced yesterday.
“This is a warning to any of those individuals who think they can threaten Immigration officers conducting their duties lawfully. If we find them, they’ll be criminally charged for so doing,” Young said in the Senate.
“If non-nationals are found engaging in any threats or intimidation with respect to any of our nationals, including Immigration officials, I’m sure the TT Police Service will take action and criminally charge them.”
He issued the warning following queries by Independent Senator Paul Richards about an exclusive report in yesterday’s T&T Guardian that Trinidad-based relatives of Venezuelans who were denied entry into the country at the Piarco International Airport last weekend, had tried to intimidate Immigration officers they believed were responsible after they ended their tours of duty.
One female Immigration officer was allegedly threatened and her vehicle was reportedly followed, forcing her to drive into a nearby police station for help.
Some Immigration officers also recently reported being targetted by Venezuelan nationals and/or relatives of Venezuelan nationals whom they’d refused entry into T&T at various ports of entry, including Piarco.
Another female officer was also followed to her home in Siparia after an incident at the port in Cedros. Some officers now want protection such as self-defence classes, bulletproof vests and in some cases guns and given gun-training.
Yesterday, Young admitted that during his visit to the Cedros port last week, Immigration officers had told him of a couple incidents.
But he said the people in question in those cases weren’t relatives of people who were denied entry into T&T, but rather people of interest who’d come to collect them.
He said Government wasn’t certain it was relatives of those seeking entry, “but we’re certain it was T&T nationals who’d followed Immigration officers after the people were refused entry.”
“We immediately discussed it with police at the (Cedros) post and I’m working on a plan for Immigration officers at Cedros,” Young said.
“I’m going to be suggesting to the Police Commissioner—especially for Piarco and other ports of entry where Immigration officers are—that we set up some ‘sting’ operations and some undercover police operatives who’ll be following Immigration officers around these areas. So if anyone’s found intimidating any Immigration officer, they’ll be charged.
“At this point, we don’t have any official report of any Immigration officer who’s concerned and we’ve only seen what’s reported in the media.
“But I’ll certainly speak to the Chief Immigration Officer on any security arrangements we can put implement, such as also using airport security personnel at airports. But there are other initiatives that I said we’d implement.”
If it’s found that relatives of Venezuelans have been intimidating officers, Young said any non-national found in criminal activity and who are charged and convicted will be deported.
The negative impact of foreigners in T&T was also raised in subsequent Senate debate by Opposition Senator Wade Mark in a motion he presented on escalating job losses since the People’s National Movement’s tenure began. Mark said between 50,000 to 60,000 job were lost since Government entered office.
“We have rising unemployment, yet still Government says they’re issuing (registration) cards (to Venezuelans)! We have no problem with people coming to our country, but it must be orderly, regulated and controlled. We have people competing with nationals for jobs and it’s not regulated,” Mark said.
“We need a migrant labour policy and legislation on this. We have a lot of challenges: we have the South American’ invasion’, we have ‘invasion’ of Africans, we have ‘invasion’ from Caricom and we have Chinese ‘invasion’—we have four sets of ‘invasion’ taking place in our country.
“Unregulated people coming from those parts of the world and there’s no control on the inflows of these people and they’re competing and replacing locals in terms of job opportunities.”
Mark continued: “I have nothing against Chinese, South Americans, or Africans. All I’m saying is, let’s have a regulated, controlled policy on this.”
Mark said youths and women particularly can’t get jobs now.
“Doctors are selling chicken and chips and pumping gas! Dentists can’t get jobs. Imagine you invest in your son or daughter, they go to university and come out as doctors and they have to sell chicken and chips and pump gas in a gas station because the Government has no job for them—that’s a crime against humanity, it’s wrong.”
He cited the latest Central Bank reports on unemployment, latest job reduction and a drop in labour force participation to the lowest since 1995.