The website of Barbados Today quoted comments by Comissiong, who pointed out that ‘this fear of immigrants that the Trump administration is pushing, is in direct contradiction with our own instincts and our own policies.’
Comissiong mentioned the local practice of honoring birthright citizenship to the children of Barbadians born abroad and the willingness to move forward to favor grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well.
On the decision to implement mass deportations, the diplomat urged Caribbean countries to devise urgent contingency plans to deal with the possible arrivals of citizens from the region to their home nations.
“If, as seems likely, a significant number of our people will be deported home, we need to be prepared for that and assess how we respond and how we might help those people reintegrate into our societies,” he noted.
The ambassador referred to the CARICOM Summit next February as a timely platform to address the issue and expressed his hope that at this time, heads of government are in informal consultations to respond in the current circumstances.
The United States is a major and historic migratory destination for Caribbean nationals or persons of Caribbean descent.
According to the June 2023 US Census, more than three million people born in the region live in the United States.
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