KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Security Council has been meeting to discuss the publicly declared positions of United States President, Donald Trump, particularly as it relates to the deportation of illegal immigrants, Information Minister, Dr Dana Morris Dixon said Wednesday.
Information Minister, Dr Dana Morris Dixon, speaking at news conference on Wednesday (CMC Photo)Trump has also ordered a 90-day freeze to allow time for a review of which humanitarian, development, and security programms will continue receiving funding from Washington.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet news conference, Dixon told reporters that Foreign Affairs Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, who was absent from the news conference because of her attendance at a legislative committee of Cabinet, has been in “constant dialogue with our US partners” and would be providing updates to the country soon.
“In terms of those issues we understand that there is a lot of interest there…and I am glad we had conversations this morning on it…and for you to note that the National Security Council met last week Thursday, and they were looking at these matters.
“We have not been ignorant of them. We’ve been looking at them, we’ve been assessing them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in constant dialogue with our US partners, as they always have, and the Minister will be giving further updates in short order in relation to this,” The Information Minister said.
“But please rest assured, up to the level of the National Security Council we’ve been looking at these matters and developing positions in relation to response to them,” she said, assuring the media representatives that they will be among the first to be informed of the government’s position.
Hundreds of Caribbean people are expected to be deported from the United States and with the Trump administration deploying a significant number of troops to enhance border security and pushing for faster deportations, Caribbean countries are preparing for the reintegration of their nationals
Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, as well as Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM, David Commissiong, have both suggested that governments should pay close attention to current developments and that regional law enforcement agencies should also ‘suit up’ to meet the challenges linked to deportations.
“Absorbing large numbers of deportees suddenly can have a disrupting effect on the social services of CARICOM governments, particularly in relation to healthcare and education. The additional strain could exacerbate unemployment and, potentially, contribute to a rise in crime rates,” Sir Ronald said in his weekly syndicated newspaper column.
Commissiong said CARICOM countries have to be concerned because the US has been a prime migration destination for people from the region “and there are many CARICOM citizens or people of CARICOM ancestry in the US.
“So, I think that beyond just concern, I think our countries would be well advised to be proactive and to put some contingency plans in place. If, as seems likely, significant numbers of our people will be deported back home, we have to be prepared for that. So, we need to give some thoughts on how we respond and how we would be able to help,” Commissiong told the Barbados Today online publication.