AFC reiterates need for immigration policy

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 December 2024, 21:35 by Writer

Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Nigel Hughes on Tuesday reiterated his party’s recommendation for an immigration policy to protect the rights of migrants, ensure Guyanese get a fair opportunity for jobs and guard against the country being overrun by foreigners.

“It does bring to the fore perhaps one of the most important issues that Guyana has to face and needs to face immediately and that is our immigration policy,” he told a news conference. The AFC wants economic migrants to be properly documented and that assessments of their “pressure” on health, education and housing be conducted.

He said all political parties, civil society and other stakeholders should be involved in crafting a policy to ascertain who gets preference to become a Guyanese, who is allowed to receive work permits taking into consideration locally available qualified persons, duration of stay by foreigners and enforcement of immigration laws.

He issued the call against the backdrop of his party’s rescue of an estimated 50 Venezuelan Warraus, including young children, who claimed that they were stranded in Georgetown after they were unable to see President Irfaan Ali at his invitation last week. A presidential aide has since said neither Dr Ali nor any other team member had invited the group to Georgetown, but when they turned up at State House on Friday, they were provided hampers, transportation to Parika, meals and lodging and transportation fares.

The Guyana government has an inter-agency committee that specifically deals with Venezuelan migrants.

Amerindian Affairs spokesperson for the AFC, Laura George said the government needed to inform the public about an organised response mechanism such as clothing, food, shelter and long-term assistance for migrants such as those who were present at the corner of Church and Thomas streets. “The government of Guyana has to let us know what are systems in place that a group suddenly find themselves in the city—these are women, children, babies—or Indigenous villages to know who to go to ensure that Indigenous people like myself…What are systems in place that lend protection to them that they don’t fall prey either to human trafficking or prostitution or exploitation of labour,” she said.

The AFC Leader would not be drawn into stating whether he believed the Warraus’ account or that of the President’s Aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Earl Edghill. Mr Hughes also shrugged off suggestions that his party might have staged the occurrence to score cheap political points against the government. “To suggest that somehow, this was contrived by us, this was not the case,” he said.

He recounted that, politics aside, he approached government minister Kwame McCoy who arrived on the scene at Church and Thomas streets to work out possible assistance. Mr Hughes said the minister recognised that they were international refugees and government would handle the situation, but the AFC stepped in with food and accommodation after it appeared that the government was experiencing difficulties. He said Mr McCoy later left the area while noting the AFC’s planned assistance.

Mr Hughes said the Warraus were taken to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs on Tuesday to be provided with assistance.