National Security Minister Rayburn Blackmoore has declared war on illegal immigrants who enter or leave Dominica through the back door, and condemned Dominican citizens who facilitate such unauthorized entries. Given the government’s crackdown on the lingering problem, the police have arrested 50 Haitians who have either overstayed their visas or entered the country through the back door.
Blackmoore warned that it is not only foreign nationals that enter Dominica or leave illegally, he said Dominicans resident abroad are also doing the same. He warned that people coming into the country are coming from countries with high rates of COVID-19 and violence, and these entrants pose a serious risk to Dominica since they could be coronavirus-positive or drug dealers. He warned those facilitating their movements to desist from such activities, and those harbouring them to stop forewith.
“Those coming in illegally are coming from hotspots and therefore pose a very serious threat to all of us,” Blackmoore said. “These people are dangerous and wicked…if you know of anyone who came through the backdoor you have a moral responsibility to report them to the police and also those who are harboring them. If you transport and habour someone coming in through the backdoor, you are also criminally responsibly.”
According to the national security minister, any foreign national found to have entered the island illegally will “not be kept at the prison at the expense of the state” but shall be deported right away to their countries.
Police Chief Daniel Carbon revealed that many Dominicans and foreigners found culpable of this offense have been arrested and charged to the court. He said the police arrested 37 Haitians during a raid in Jimmit on August 2 and arrested 11 others in the north of the country on August 7, while five ships and 22 people had earlier been arrested for unauthorized entry into the island.
“Some of them are using Dominica as a transshipment point to travel to other countries through illegal means,” the police chief said. “I have warned against entering and living Dominica through illegal means. Some of our citizens are overseas and want to return home however, they must do so legally by coming in at a designated port of entry. The government of Dominica, the police, and the Ministry of Health has worked very hard to make Dominica COVID-19 free.”
Carbon added that the police will reward people who assist with information leading to the arrest of illegal immigrants, and citizens caught facilitating the unauthorized entries will be dealt with severely according to law.
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