Trinidad and Tobago’s former national security minister is claiming that there are over 20,000 undocumented Jamaicans in the twin-island republic who are a burden on the country and costing government to lose out on half billion dollars every year.
And, says Gary Griffith, the Keith Rowley administration must not be intimidated by “any foreign political party” in its efforts to safeguard its security and economic resources.
His comments came on the heels of criticism in Jamaica and calls for a boycott of Trinidadian products, after Immigration officers at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad refused entry to 12 Jamaicans last month. Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses had explained that the Jamaicans who tried to enter the country on March 21 were sent back home because they were likely to become a charge on the public purse.
However, Jamaica’s Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, Anthony Hylton, called on the Andrew Holness-led government to take the matter before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Griffith contended that many Jamaicans refuse to leave the country after gaining entry under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) free movement regime, and end up benefitting from state resources and getting jobs, or contributing to Trinidad and Tobago’s crime problem.
“It is because of this, that there are over 20,000 Jamaican Nationals who have done just that, by using the CSME angle to enter for six months, but then refuse to leave after that six-month period…”
