Trinidad and Tobago will continue to collaborate with the US administration in the event of any deportations by cooperating as needed, as has been done in the past when the US has increased border security measures.
A supposed list of individuals by nation, dated November 2024, for whom deportation orders had been issued was recently posted by Fox News. The data indicates that 1,197 people who received deportation orders are from Trinidad and Tobago.
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Dr. Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, stated that Trinidad and Tobago will continue to work closely with the US administration on these issues as necessary, even if he has not received any formal contact regarding the facts presented in that article.
Browne stated, “Trinidad and Tobago continues to fully cooperate with the United States of America on issues related to migration, and this includes our ongoing cooperation in the receipt and management of deportations of our nationals from the United States. Of note, such deportations have been ongoing for years, with excellent communication between the respective teams and departments involved in these exercises. This communication and partnership continue.”
He further mentioned, “We have not been able to verify the various unofficial “listings” and similar documents that are in recent circulation, and caution against reliance on such.”
An Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” mandated increased agency-wide vetting and screening.
The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, is required to, “identify all resources that may be used to ensure that all aliens seeking admission to the United States, or who are already in the United States, are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”
In addition to identifying sources, the organization is expected to, ” determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the INA for one of its nationals, and to ascertain whether the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and that the individual is not a security or public-safety threat.”
The directive also requires that a report detailing the nations “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries according to section 212(f) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(f))” be prepared within 60 days of the order’s date. According to the order, authorities must determine how citizens of certain nations entered the US after January 20, 2021. If information is found that supports their exclusion or removal, such aliens will be excluded or removed (with limited exceptions).
“To ensure that they are not used by foreign nation-states or other hostile actors to harm the security, economic, political, cultural, or other national interests of the United States,” the directive mandates that all visa programs be reviewed.
