The Government of Turks and Caicos Islands, located about 200 miles north coast of Haiti, announced Thursday hat it has lifted its moratorium on the repatriation of Haitians in an irregular situation on its territory.

Remember that the Turks and Caicos Islands had suspended the deportation of illegal Haitian immigrants already in the country, with the exception of those arriving by boat, ollowing the intervention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who had urged governments to suspend all returns to Haiti and to grant temporary protection for humanitarian reasons, to those who had left Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

"The lifting of the moratorium on deportation [of Haitians in an irregular situation] is part of the Ministry of Border Control and Labour's commitment to enforce the law firmly, fairly and effectively," declared Clara Gardiner, permanent secretary in the Ministry, adding "Through the development of our intelligence capability and establishment of a Joint Protocol with the police, we are focusing on those threats and individuals who seek to undermine the integrity of our borders such as sloop arrivals, facilitators and traffickers, whilst targeting those migrants involved in criminality or causing harm to our communities."

With the lifting of the moratorium, our compatriots in an irregular situation, future arrivals or already present on the territory of Turks and Caicos Islands, may now be repatriated to Haiti.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-4605-haiti-social-117-migrants-haitiens-interceptes-au-large-de-french-cay.html

S/ HaitiLibre