Guyana asks U.S. congressmen to help block deportees
GUYANA is calling on members of the United States Congress to amend the legislation of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act to prevent the deportation of its nationals. In a letter to almost 200 leading members of Congress, Guyana's Ambassador to the United States, Dr Odeen Ishmael, drew the lawmakers' attention to the negative effects the deportations have on the Guyanese society. Ishmael's letter is addressed to nearly 200 members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. They include the Congressional Black Caucus, the House Committee on Appropriations (including the sub-committees on Foreign Affairs and Justice), the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (including the Criminal Justice Oversight sub-committee, and the Immigration Sub-Committee), the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the House Committee on International Relations. In his letter, Ishmael said that since the enforcement of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (which forms part of the Immigration and Naturalization legislation of the United States), "a growing number of nationals of Guyana, who had become permanent residents of the United States, have been, and continue to be, deported to Guyana after completing their sentences for crimes they committed while living in the United States." "Some of these persons were convicted for serious crimes which included illegal trafficking and sale of illegal narcotics and crimes of violence, involving in some instances the use of weapons including firearms", the ambassador noted. Others were involved in less serious criminal activity. "In all these cases, these persons generally had no criminal records before leaving Guyana to reside in the United States. Many of them also left Guyana when they were young children and over the years have lost all familial and cultural connections with their homeland", he told the members of Congress. "It is unfortunate that many of those deported to Guyana have resorted to a life of criminal activity, some of which has been so serious as to have merited international publicity", Ishmael said. He added: "You would agree with me that such criminal activity not only tarnishes the name of my country but reflects negatively on the Guyanese populace at large. "At the same time, the Government of Guyana is forced to spend an increasingly greater proportion of its revenues in combating crime when such resources could be more beneficially used for social and economic development. "It is of interest to note that some Caribbean Government leaders have pointed to the fact that crime rates have been increasing in the region as more and more persons with criminal records are deported from North America." The Guyana Ambassador further noted: "The return of these criminal deportees to their country of origin is in accordance with the Immigration legislation of the United States which specifies that U.S. residents who are not American citizens may be deported to their countries of origin. "But this legislation raises several moral and administrative issues, a few of which are highlighted below: 1. By sending the criminal deportees back to Guyana where there are no rehabilitation programmes to assist these persons, Guyana is "penalised" by a State in whose social environment the criminalising of these persons developed. Indeed, these persons have already served their time in prison, but they are now sent back by a country where rehabilitation programmes exist, to a country which has no such programmes in operation. The United States has the moral responsibility to rehabilitate these persons who have completed their sentences, since their deviant behaviour is a product of the U.S. environment in which they have resided. It must also be emphasised that resources of the Guyana Police Force are being pressured to monitor the whereabouts and activities of these deportees on a regular basis. 2. Many deportees have no close relatives remaining in Guyana and so the traditional assistance of family for resettlement and positive absorption in the society is absent. There are cases to show that some deportees quickly fall back into a life of crime, and some have been involved in acts of violence in which sophisticated weapons have been used. 3. Deportees are separated from their families who continue to live in the United States as permanent residents or citizens. Thus, the basic human rights of both the deportees and their families are affected in the course of the deportation exercise. Taking into consideration the above issues, I appeal to you to use your influence within the United States Congress to institute changes leading to the amendment of the Illegal Immigration Returns and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 which will, at a minimum, halt the deportation of: 1. Persons who entered the United States as legal residents ever since they were minors. 2. Persons who are married to citizens of the United States. 3. Persons who have their families (wives and children) living in the United States as legal residents. I want to emphasise that there are large concentrations of Guyanese nationals in the United States, especially in the cities of New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Houston, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. Many of them are U.S. citizens who participate in the political process in the United States by, inter alia, voting in state and federal elections. These Guyanese nationals remit sums of money and provide other donations, from time to time, to help support their relatives and social and cultural organisations in Guyana. As serious crimes increase, Guyanese nationals residing in the United States become more and more concerned over their effects on the security welfare of the families and organisations they support in Guyana, and naturally they feel that such concerns could be alleviated if amendments in the Illegal Immigration Returns and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as suggested above, are made. I appeal to you to give consideration and support to my plea." 
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