TRINIDAD and Tobago, overridden with crime and with a collapsed economy, is becoming a pariah of the developed world.
The imposition of visa requirements for visitors to the United Kingdom took place in the same week the United States again cautioned its citizens to avoid travelling to T&T.
Canada has tightened regulations against people seeking refugee status.
Most European countries recently implemented an Electronic Travel Authorisation System to properly screen T&T visitors.
These strict travel stipulations are being enforced because of an increasing number of T&T citizens fleeing the worst hardship in almost 50 years.
The United Kingdom’s introduction of visa requirements resulted from a nine-fold increase in T&T nationals seeking asylum in order to escape crime and financial difficulties.
More people are rushing to Britain in what High Commissioner Jon Dean termed “unjustified asylum applications.”
In Canada, the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board is processing applications from people seeking refugee status.
Applicants must satisfy the authorities of a well-founded fear of persecution, torture or risk to their lives.
Some are citing T&T’s runaway incidence of crime.
A widow of South Trinidad recently made out a successful case that her life would be in danger if she returned to T&T.
But many applicants are failing to convince immigration officials.
The US Department of State last week restated its Level 3 advisory “to safeguard American travellers.”
US citizens are urged to “reconsider travel due to serious safety concerns.”
The T&T Government’s inability to block a brutal Venezuelan criminal gang from entering the country is one reason why the US reinforced a firm travel advisory.
The PNM Administration has taken no action against the notorious Tren de Aragua gangsters, who routinely enter the country through wide-open southern borders, bringing in high-powered guns and illegal drugs.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials recently arrested the gang’s ringleader Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco in The Bronx, New York.
In subsequent crackdowns, other Tren De Aragua criminals were held for murder and other serious offences.
The PNM Government was advised in 2020 that the gangsters could destabilise T&T but sidestepped the counsel.
The Trump Administration’s move against illegal migrants has closed the door to several people seeking greener pastures from the challenges of life in T&T.
Some illegal immigrants in Brooklyn and elsewhere in the US have been ducking the authorities, with some absenting themselves from work.
That has led to a sharp reduction in remittances to relatives in T&T.
Remittances from the US to T&T average US $200 million a year.
The new travel restrictions and advisories are the most rigorous against T&T since the 1980s, when a depleted economy prompted many to migrate.
Thousands of people – including an entire village in Penal – sought refugee status in Canada.
The current quality of life is even more onerous for many, in light of the unchecked rate of bloody crimes.
But this time, T&T is emerging as an outcast of the developed world.
