(Trinidad Guardian) “We will deport you.”This was the message from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to Venezuelan migrants entering Trinidad and Tobago illegally.
“We have not taken a decision to register more Venezuelans, what we have also done—and the policy still stands at the time of registration if you were not among those who were registered who were here, who have come in over a period of time—if you were not among them and you turn up in Trinidad and Tobago, we will exercise our right to deport you, but of course it is on a case by case basis,” Rowley said.
Rowley made the statement during The Morning Brew show with Natalee Legore.
He also warned Venezuelan migrants who currently are registered here that if they aid or abet their countrymen to come to T&T illegally, they too will be deregistered and deported.
Last year, T&T had a registration process for Venezuelan migrants here.
Just over 16,500 Venezuelan migrants were registered during that process.
Rowley said this was evidence of T&T’s humanitarian stance.
Rowley said the decisions on handling of the migrants cannot be simply based on emotion.
“We are not putting up a flag saying all children can come here,” Rowley said.
T&T recently deported 160 Venezuelan migrants who had entered the country illegally.