Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire moments ago quashed the deportation orders against 26 Haitian nationals.
The Haitian nationals arrived in Guyana on November 7, 2020, and were subsequently apprehended by a contingent of police officers under arms and taken into custody at the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) Headquarters.
This publication had reported that after the foreign nationals arrived in Guyana, they reportedly lied to immigration officers about where they would be staying – this is a violation of the immigration laws.
On December 2, 2020, Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court issued a deportation order after the Attorney General’s Chambers was expected to respond to a motion filed by the nationals’ Attorney-at-law, Darren Wade on behalf of the Association of Haitian Nationals in Guyana. The motion sought to get the Government to haul the Haitians before the court.
As a result, Wade moved to the High Court, challenging the deportation order. He contended that Magistrate Isaacs-Marcus’s order is arbitrary and in violation of the Haitians’ fundamental rights.
The Chief Justice on December 3 issued a conservatory order suspending the deportation of 26 Haitian nationals, who were in “protective custody” at the Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration at Onverwagt, Region Five.
The nationals were released on December 9, 2020, and since, they are nowhere to be found.
Amid the proceedings, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall had asked the High Court to strike out the case after the applicant – Allandres Archer, said he was tricked into filing the applicant.
Nevertheless, the CJ dismissed the application on the grounds that submissions were not complied with.
As it relates to the deportation order, the Chief Justice posited that there was a breach of natural justice regarding the issuance of the deportation.
“…the subject should have been taken to court so that it could be heard,” George- Wiltshire said.
