(Trinidad Guardian) A joint exercise which saw several arms of national security working together yesterday morning resulted in 200 Venezuelan nationals being detained after it was discovered they were undocumented.
The detainees were held as they partied at a popular bar along the Western Main Road, St James.
The group, which included people between the ages of 17 to 46, were subsequently taken to the Heliport, Chaguaramas.
The exercise sanctioned by ACP Maharaj, coordinated by Snr Supt Henry, and spearheaded by Insp Davidson and Sgt Adams also included members of the Defence Force as well as the Immigration Division.
Officials carried out the raid between 1.30 am and noon yesterday, and interviewed the attendees who were reportedly guests at a birthday party hosted by the manager of the establishment and another business owner.
Among them were several male individuals dressed as women.
Officials said a final count resulted in 96 males and 95 females being detained, as they were suspected to be illegal immigrants after failing to produce any documents permitting them to be in T&T.
A senior police officer yesterday confirmed to Guardian Media that they were conducting further investigations to ascertain whether there were any breaches of the law as it relates to the licence under which the business is being operated.
Referring to the exercise as an act of refoulement yesterday, attorney Criston J Williams said, “From my understanding, many of them are holders of identification cards issued by the UNHCR. And this provides international protection for that individual not to be forced to return to their country.”
The Quantum Legal head said the raid and subsequent detention of people, especially those granted permission by the UNHCR, was contrary to international law and could adversely affect T&T’s standing globally.
Williams challenged Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as head of the National Security Council to break his silence on the matter and say definitively if this country intended to withdraw from the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Meanwhile, local activist Yesenia Gonzalez expressed sadness and anger over the situation.
Admitting she was aware of the raid, she claimed, “My information is that many of them are asylum seekers who are here in transit to places like Canada.”
Acknowledging the authorities had a job to do, she said, “This is heartbreaking.”
She defended them, “They are not breaking any other laws, yet they are being arrested and detained like criminals, and most likely they will be deported.”
Pointing to the record number of murders and other crimes being committed, she angrily demanded lawmen stop targeting migrants and labelling them criminals.
She said the State had more serious issues to address than undocumented people enjoying a night out.
Gonzales claimed some of the detainees had been granted amnesty, but had not been in possession of their “cards” when held yesterday.
Last week, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad, while dismissing a hybrid judicial review and constitutional motion lawsuit brought by a Venezuelan refugee who was ordered to be deported by National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds in March, said asylum seekers and refugees can be deported from this country despite T&T being a signatory to a United Nations Convention that advises against such action.
