PLANS BY United States authorities to deport more Caribbean immigrants have understandably thrown regional governments and security agencies further into a tailspin.
In response to the reports, one of Jamaica's Assistant Commissioners of Police, George Williams, has been quoted by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) as saying there was no doubt that the region was going to face "serious problems" with some of these deportees. His views would have been shaped by studies suggesting that many of the persons sent back to the region by the U.S. and Canada are deeply involved in criminal networks and often later unleash new waves of criminality, using sophisticated skills acquired in the metropolis.
Whatever the objections by regional governments that many of the people being sent back have no real links with the home country because they left when they were toddlers, the Americans in particular refuse to be swayed. Their primary concern is to get rid of the problem on their shores.
It must be conceded that apart from those who are bona fide U.S. citizens, there really is no strong reason why the American government should be obliged to keep Caribbean migrants within its borders. So it then becomes our responsibility to find ways to manage and monitor those who return home. Our track record to date does not give us much hope for optimism.
Throughout the region, our security forces are struggling to cope with rising murder and kidnapping rates. Places once considered tranquil and idyllic are now on the crime radar. The scourge of drug trafficking and related murders has infected every territory. The efforts must therefore be intensified to strengthen regional collaboration in sharing intelligence on the movements of criminal suspects. We note that this is one of the top agenda items for next month's meetings of CARICOM security ministers. As Jamaica's Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, noted last month, there is no legislative framework in place at present to allow forcollaboration on the training and exchange of security personnel and proposals for a mutual assistance treaty.
The latest reports of the plans to deport more Caribbean nationals should give greater urgency to the CARICOM talks and implementation of a plan of action. And notwithstanding the financial problems being faced locally, the Government should also consider the establishment of a half-way house for newly-arrived deportees. Many who are returned to Jamaica are simply dumped at the airports with no local family connections, and soon drift further into a life of crime. A half-way house should be seen simply as a pre-emptive strike. Their presence might not eliminate crime altogether but should help reduce the incidence. We must move with dispatch to strengthen what remains of our systems of law and order.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
