Forty-six of over 90 Venezuelan migrants who were deported last month have returned to this country.
And while many of them have returned as they are seeking asylum in other countries, their attorneys have advised them to seek out the T&T Police Service (TTPS) in the interim.
In a letter to Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher, attorneys Criston Williams and Blaine Sobrian, from Quantum Legal, highlighted the return of their clients, as well as what was perceived as the improper and unlawful issuance of deportation orders by Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Prime Minister, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as the Police Complaints Authority.
The attorneys argued that “the orders of deportation and/or deportation were wholly and utterly improper and illegal, contravening several pieces of legislation, including the Immigration Act and the International Criminal Court Act and offending the Common Law”.
They claim that the migrants were forced to sign the deportation orders under threat of imprisonment, and as a result, the attorneys are once again calling on the Police Commissioner to investigate Hinds for crimes against humanity for signing the deportation orders.
They also claimed that their clients were not afforded the right as asylum seekers to challenge their rejection as provided for under the Immigration Act.
“By serving the Complainants with Form 19B orders of deportation, the Minister represents that several mandatory administrative steps, processes, and procedures were rigidly followed by himself, his servants, his personnel and officers under the purview of the Immigration Division in accordance with the Immigration Act and the Immigration Regulations.
“However, the protocols that the Immigration Act and the Immigration Regulations dictate before a Form 19B order of deportation is issued were almost entirely ignored, neglected and/or bypassed in respect of the Complainants. Be advised that these protocols are absolute, with no existing provision and/or policy allowing for dispensing with same….
“The circumvention of the protocols by the Minister, the Chief Immigration Officer, and the respective servants and personnel involved in the pending deportation of the Complainants are criminally liable under Section 41 and Section 42 of the Immigration Act. We shall outline the procedural steps that should have been followed for your convenience,” the letter read.
About 97 persons were deported on August 12, among them several of the 196 people who had been detained on July 9 at the Apex Bar in St James.
Some 30 people had been released on orders of supervision after attorneys filed a judicial review application based on the actions of the State.
However, before anyone else could be released, the State appealed the decision and was successful.
On August 12, the group was moved from the Heliport in Chaguaramas to Staubles Bay, from where they were then deported.