Increase in number of deportees

The man was convicted of the third degree rape of a victim said to be “incapable of consent” and sentenced to five years of probation supervision. The arrest was part of a ten day enforcement effort dubbed Operation SOAR (Sex Offender Alien Removal.) Among those arrested were 31 other sex offenders from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Mexico and Peru. The TT citizen is expected to remain in ICE custody pending deportation.

Founder of Vision on Mission, Wayne Chance, told Newsday yesterday the number of deportees being sent back to this country has increased because of new immigration constraints. “The U.S. tops the list in terms of deportation back to Trinidad,” Chance said. “Through the years, the numbers remain relatively high from the U.S. and the U.K. and other places in Europe.” Chance said many deportees end up on the streets. “We don’t have the financial resources to provide the special care that is needed for some deportees. As a result, a lot of them become socially displaced.” He also said society has to come to a place of maturity and must work in a “structural way” when dealing with deportees. “What our facility specialises in is localised reintegration. You can see a programme used in another country but how do you use it in your own society? One has to understand the dynamics of working with deportees.” He said there is a type of “upbringing and a way of culture” deportees, ex-inmates and criminal offenders have experienced.

“We have to understand the way they were cultured. Then, it’s important to break down, restructure and re-educate.” He said dealing with deportees and criminal offenders is a “State responsibility.” He said society has “come a long way” in terms of dealing with deportees.