Guyana yet to be notified of possible deportations amid Trump’s crackdown

Guyana has yet to receive any official notification regarding the potential deportation of its citizens from the United States, despite President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at tightening immigration policies.

As of Tuesday, January 28, no deportation flights have landed in Guyana, and none are scheduled soon.

“We are not aware of any deportations as yet,” Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn told the News Room.

“We haven’t been contacted in respect of that,” he added.

This follows a wave of deportation flights that have already landed in various Latin American countries, as part of Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration.

A significant portion of the Guyanese diaspora resides in the United States, with over 230,000 Guyanese Americans recorded as of 2019.

The majority live in New York City, where the Guyanese community is the fifth-largest foreign-born population in the city, with approximately 140,000 individuals.

While not all are undocumented, it is believed that a sizable number of them are at risk of facing deportation under the new administration.

Should such deportations occur, however, Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, assured persons that the country would welcome its citizens back.

“We will accept them here,” he said during his weekly press conference last week.

However, already, the Trump administration has put a temporary halt on new applications, adding an extra layer of uncertainty for many.

While the U.S. has deported Guyanese nationals in the past, Guyana has also deported individuals to the United States, as noted by Minister Benn.