CMC – The Grenada government Monday said that it would deport 15 Haitian nationals, who entered the island as a group of tourist on Sunday, because immigration has determined that they would be a burden to the public purse.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, who is also the Minister for National Security and Immigration, told a news conference that the French-speaking nationals had arrived there on a flight from neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.
He said that because Haiti is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping, there are very specific and limited grounds that can be used to prevent a CARICOM national from entering a member state.
“One of which is a charge on the public purse and the second will be in broad terms, national security risk, in this case, it was purely on the basis of a charge on the public purse,” Mitchell said, indicating that the Haitians were unable to stay in a hotel for at least one night.
“If you don’t have cash or credit card that allows you to afford a hotel for one night, it means you don’t have a place to stay, and if you don’t have a place to stay and we let you into our community what is going to happen, it means we as a state will have to take care of you,” he said.
Grenada is hoping to send them back on Monday night.
Mitchell acknowledged that the political and economic situation in Haiti will be discussed at the three-day CARICOM summit to be held in the Bahamas from Wednesday.
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