PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The United States has deported more than 2, 000 criminals back to the Caribbean in the past six months, according to figures released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The figures show that from the start of the 2011 fiscal year in October last year to the end of March this year, 88,497 criminal “aliens” or migrants were deported to their country of birth in the Latin/ America and the Caribbean region.
A “criminal alien” is defined under U.S. immigration laws as a migrant who is convicted of a crime.
The number sent back to Latin America alone stood at 86,469 while 2,028 were sent back to the Caribbean.
For the Caribbean, 1,066 criminals were sent to the Dominican Republic followed by Jamaica with 528 and Trinidad and Tobago with 125.
Belize received 74 followed by The Bahamas with 65 and Guyana 64.
So far this fiscal year, 50 migrants have been sent back to Aruba and 31 to the earth-quake ravaged Haiti. Other Caribbean nations received far less criminal deportees.
Cuba received 20 in the past six months; Barbados 11; Dominica 10; St. Lucia seven and Antigua five. Four persons were sent back to Bermuda while St. Kitts received three, while two each were sent to Suriname, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.
The figures show that Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos, received one criminal deportee each.
The biggest receiver of criminal migrants was Mexico with 70,874 deported as of March 28 this year. (CMC)
