137 Guyanese deported from US in 2017 – report

A total of one hundred and thirty seven (137) Guyanese were deported from the United States of America (USA) in 2017, as compared to ninety three (93) persons who were removed and sent back home in 2016 for various criminal offences. This is according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations Report (ERO) for the fiscal year 2017.

The report, seeks to summarize ICE and ERO activities for the previous year.
With regards to the rest of the Caribbean region, Haiti saw five thousand, five hundred and seventy-eight of its nationals being deported in 2017. That figure represents a massive increase when compared to 2016, when just three hundred and ten Haitians were sent packing.
Also, in 2017, Jamaica saw seven hundred and eighty-two of its citizens being deported, Trinidad and Tobago saw one hundred and twenty-eight being sent back home and Bahamas saw ninety-five persons being deported.
The other CARICOM nations saw a small number of their citizens being deported.
ERO identifies, arrests, and removes aliens who present a danger to national security or a threat to public safety, or who otherwise undermines border control and the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.
ICE shares responsibility for administering and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
On January 25, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order 13,768, Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States (EO), which set forth the Administration’s immigration enforcement and removal priorities.
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) February 20, 2017 memorandum, Enforcement of the Immigration Laws to Serve the National Interest (implementation memorandum) provided direction for the implementation of the policies set forth in the EO.
The EO and implementation memorandum expanded ICE’s enforcement focus to include removable aliens who have been convicted of any criminal offense; have been charged with any criminal offense that has not been resolved; have committed acts which constitute a chargeable criminal offense; have engaged in fraud or wilful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter before a governmental agency; have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits; are subject to a final order of removal but have not complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or in the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security.
The Department has directed that classes or categories of removable aliens are no longer exempted from potential enforcement.