United States Deports 13 Grenadian Nationals

By Linda Straker
CMC Correspondent

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, December 16, 2019 (CMC) – Law enforcement authorities, here, have not yet indicated whether 13 Grenadians deported from the United States, this year, have been designated as restricted persons, as provided for, in the Deportation Registration legislation.

The legislation, which came into effect on the  October 31, 2003, requires the police to have a registry of all deportees.

Under the legislation, some can be designated as restricted persons, once the Minister for National Security may, by order, upon application by the Commissioner and upon being satisfied that it is necessary to do so in the interest of public safety or public order.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Fiscal Year 2019 Enforcement and Removal Operations Report, released on today, said that the Grenadians were among several Caribbean nationals deported, so far this year.

The report summarizes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) activities during 2019 and highlights the impact of changing migration patterns on the agency’s operations.

According to the report, last year, nine Grenadians were deported and the 2019 figure show an overall increase in the number of people deported to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Barbados.

The report shows that 19 people were deported to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, up from the 13 last year, while there had been a small decline for the number of St. Lucians, with the figure being 22, as against 28 in 2018.

Barbados recorded an increase of 12 this year, as compared to 2018, when 17 Barbadians were sent home; while Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda had significant reductions. Last year, 24 Antiguans were deported, but the figure fell to 12 this year, and, in the case of Dominica, 19 people were sent home, last year, as compared with 16 in 2019.

The specific crimes for each country were not included in the report, but the 32-page document said most were for criminal offences.  While Enforcement and Removal Operations administrative arrests, including arrests of criminals, have declined, overall, since 2018, ICE said it remains committed to directing its enforcement resources to those aliens, posing the greatest risk to the safety and security of the United States.

“As a result, the majority of aliens, arrested by ERO, are convicted criminals, followed by those with pending criminal charges at the time of the arrest. In Fiscal Year 2019, 86 percent of ERO’s administrative arrests consisted of aliens with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges,” said the report, which explains that ERO continues to carry out its public safety mission, with limited resources, and as a result, many of those arrested have extensive criminal histories with multiple convictions or pending charges.

It said that of the 123,128 administrative arrests in 2019 with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges, their criminal history represented 489,063 total criminal convictions and pending charges as of the date of arrest.