–foreign minister orders probe
By Oluatoyin Alleyne
Officials at the Guyana Embassy in Washington DC made a “huge mistake” when they issued travel documents for a man of Guyanese parentage to be deported to Guyana and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has ordered an investigation.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
“A huge mistake was made in issuing the documentation and I have ordered a full investigation into the matter,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett told Stabroek News last evening when contacted.
The man was deported to Guyana on Tuesday morning but was returned to the US on Wednesday after immigration officers found no record of him ever being Guyanese. The man’s mother confirmed to Stabroek News yesterday that while she is Guyanese her son was born in Suriname, but has lived in the US for some 20 years.
The foreign minister said the “procedures in issuing travel documents” were not followed. She said she was informed of the matter and immediately contacted the mission in Washington. From what she was told initially, she said, a mistake was made. She said she ordered an investigation and a full report.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday via telephone from the US, the man’s mother, who prefers that her son remains unnamed, said officials in the US knew the man was not born in Guyana. While she would not say what her son had been incarcerated for, the woman said he had served his time and should be set free instead of being deported to a country that is not his own.
The young man’s only visit to Guyana was at age four and he spent just about three days here, “to learn to fly kite just to see what Easter is all about.”
According to the woman, when she learned that her son might be deported to Guyana, she contacted the Guyana Embassy in Washington. She said she explained that while she was Guyanese, her son had been born in Suriname and a woman, who she named, told her that the Embassy has been issuing travel documents to deportees born in Suriname to Guyanese parents.
“She knew that his parents left Guyana before the child was born and lived in Suriname,” the man’s mother said. “She knew that Suriname refused to accept him but her exact words to me were, ‘it is in the Constitution that children born of Guyanese parents are Guyanese and the government does not ignore their people,’” the woman said.
The man’s mother said she then asked the woman what support system was in place for deportees in Guyana and was advised that there was none, but relatives of the deportee would have the responsibility to return to Guyana and take care of the person if there are no relatives living there. She was further told “Guyanese family takes care of their own.”
She said when she pointed out that it was not fair to Guyanese to accept someone who has never lived there but was being deported after committing a crime in another country, the woman became annoyed and asked whether she was questioning Guyana’s constitution.
The woman contended that her son was a “convict who paid his price” but said he never lied to any officials in order to be returned to Guyana.
“And I know he was not the first outsider who was issued travel documents… I have been trying to contact the news in Guyana for a long time,” the woman said yesterday.
She explained that her son had been a resident of the US for almost 20 years and when he arrived in the US he did so with a Suriname passport.
“When he had to go for the visa he would have had to present his passport and birth certificate and they were from Suriname,” the woman said.
She said she could not understand why the US officials supported by the Guyanese officials would want to send her son to a country that has never been his home and to which he has no ties.
Since her son’s return to the US on Wednesday, the mother said, she has been prevented from seeing him as he remains in custody. She said she is trying to get her son out of custody so he could continue his life as he has already served his time.
I need more details to get a better understanding of this situation, such as how old was the man when he left Suriname, was his visa to enter the USA issued by the United States Emabssy in Paramaribo, does the man have relatives in Suriname, does the man have relatives in Guyana, does the man speak Sranang Tango or Dutch? I find this particular case interesting for this begs the question of if a person born of Guyanese parentage in the USA breaks US laws would be deported to Guyana. The reason I am asking is because there is ambiguity here in the laws, for I was under the impression that nationality is determined by place of birth, but now I am seeing that there are other factors that determine nationality.
Sister, if you need more details so as to get a better understanding of the situation you can contact the Officials at the Guyana Embassy in Washington DC. Since you reside in the US already; contacting them should be easy.
Hey sister,
You working with the FBI or what??????
Bismattie Ramsawak THAT IS NOT SO
U ARE A CITIZEN OF THAT COUNTRY OF U BORN IN, ITS UP TO U TO GIVE THAT RIGHT UP BUT IT WILL STILL BE STATED ON UR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF UR COUNTRY OF CITIZEN SHIP
AND IS U BORN IN THE US TO GUYANESE PARENTS THAT DOENT MAKE U A GUYANESE SO DO SOME READING UP
AND THE PERSON AT THE GUYANA EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON SHOULD BE FIRED
he has no one in suriname nor guyana after year of marriage he was born in suriname. he speak only dutch after he came to us he start learning english. call the us embassy in washington and speak to miss JUNE DUBLIN AND HER SUPERIOR
That’s not necessarily true. Washington Embassy is not a fountain of useful information regarding Guyana immigration law. Usually when you call and ask to speak to someone about a specific matter the only person you get to speak to is the nice lady who answers the phone. She usually would engage you in pleasant conversation and give broad opinions to your questions that may or may not be correct. When you insist on speaking to a representative at the Embassy who SHOULD know fore sure, she would give you one name or another, and instruct you to “FAX” your questions to the person, or to call one ministry or another in Georgetown. Embassy officials are ALWAYS unavailable to speak to you directly, and they never return phone calls!. That has been my experience on a number of occasions.
Birkett needs to put faria pun dis case.
Sister, let me try to make some sense to this situation. First, according to US laws, if you are not a citizen of the United States and you commit a crime of moral terpitude, you will be deported. Second, according to my understanding, this lad has at least one Guyanese parent and therefore based on the Guyana constitution, he has dual citizenship and he can either be deported to Suriname or Guyana. Lastly, his parents is lawless. This kid somehow got to the US when he was of kindergarten age, you mean to tell me they could not have applied for his citizenship? So what’s the fuss now, they got only themselves to blame. The US cannot deport it’s citizens. Where are they going to deport them too, the US. I am sorry concerned mother, but the US is within it’s rights. This should be a wake up call for all you people and take my advice, if you are a green card holder, as soon as you complete four years and nine months in the US, apply for your citizenship. Thanks for paying attention.
DE MAN IS A NO NATION!
Thank you very much indeed XPAT for answering my questions. So nice to see you here, and I just want to say that England is my favourite country. I wish I had gone up to London before your departure from BG. Thanks again and nice to see you here. God Bless!
Xpat, i concur with everything you said with the exception to one.If you are a naturalize American citizen you can still be deported in cases such as espionage and terrorism ect.Do you remember the German concentration camp guard who was deported although he had an american born wife and grown children??I think his name was Van Claus.
AS an naturalised american you are permitted to exercise your franchise at the ballot box on the first Tuesday in November each year and work for the federal government. You can also declare your candidacy for any elected office in the land except the president or vice president.To become an American president it is IMPERATIVE that you be born in the USA.It is in the American Constitution.
Mr K: I was fortunate to be transferred to Ms Dublin in DC, who told me it was in “the constitution” to recognize children born of Guyanese parents as citizens (she did not state they had to be registered at an embassy (which would make more sense). She advised this was always done even though no family member remain there. Her exact words were “Guyanese family takes care of their own so it was up to the family to go down to GT to make provision for the person”. Yet they sent him back…… the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing…. that’s the history of the Guyanese officials regardless of who is in charge. I guess we know how most of them get their positions.
Hey Sister, thanks, good looking out.
There was no mistake made here. By virtue of one of both of this deportee’s parents being Guyanese- this man has the right to seek Guyanese citizenship. Its the law.
it’s not the law. at birth you had to register the child at the embassy, if they did not then he is not a guyanese.
Bismattie, there is more to this story. The mother sounds a bit confused – are they trying to create a wilful diversion so that the son gets to remain in the US? I know someone whose son comitted a crime and was set to be deported back to GY but the mother pleaded for his stay on the grounds that he left when he was a child and was successful. I am NOT saying that this is the case here but there is a high probability!!!!
Which law are you referring to?….. Please enlighten me.
Ne NE,it sounds so much like a diversion to get him to stay in the US,the mother is claiming that Suriname does not want him also.
Hmmmmm…SN speak with someone on phone. Do they know who they speaking wid ? Of course, no names. Typical SN garbage journalsm…
ur right he has the right to seek guyanese citizenship, but not after he was deported. he is not a guyanese let the US deal with their problems
Ask yourselves this question. Who has capital to spend when it comes to credibility, on this issue or any other issue of integrity? Is it the Pee Pee Pee Guyana government who scored a dismal low on their corruption review or the USA?
As I said before, despite the young man being born in Suriname, he has the right to invoke Guyanese citizenship based on his parent’s place of birth. And in a deportation case such as this, he is given the option of being deported to Guyana or Suriname.
The US immigration department is then compelled to take the deportees request into consideration and must base their decision on which country is more familiar to him. Guyana was chosen because the relatives of his parents reside there instead of Suriname.
Now I realize that some of you Pee Pee Pee propagandist bloggers are unable to demonstrate self thought due to the cool aid you’re drinking but this is a simple matter. Even a grade schooler should be able to comprehend the logic used by the US to arrive at this process.
I trust this is the final word on this? Or do I have to use slide shows with illustrations?
They spoke to me Reddy, come on.
SO IF A PERSON BORN IN THE US TO GUYANESE THEN HE IS A GUYANESE NOT A US CITIZEN
IT ALL RUBBISH
Too much torture in Guyana Man. Why would any one want to go there. Right Bas.
you should practice your guyanese law but you have to learn it first………….or just maybe it is for a few and the rest are free………no i guess its who u know
Bismattie Ramsawak you said. Who has capital to spend when it comes to credibility, on this issue or any other issue of integrity? Is it the Pee Pee Pee Guyana government who scored a dismal low on their corruption review or the USA?
A very pertinent question has been asked here yesterday in regards to what you stated.Can you tell me whom are the officials or authors whom submitted that report to that organ?
Reddy,
Wha you want to know people name fuh? So you kyan set d Leonora Police pon dem?
In response to L. Leroy: it is tell me “who” not whom and “who” submitted not whom. Just departing some diction that I learned in primary 4 in Bartica sweetie.
GTKING48, yes you’re totally correct. Those points you mentioned are questions on the citizenship application form and if you misrepresent a material fact then it will be considered a fraudulent act which will make your application null and void which will lead to your immediate removal from the United States.
it had to be a guyanese in that embassy that working with a Guyanese attutide
zero
I agree with you Lindenman. The Officials at the Guyana Embassy in Washington DC who issued the man with travel documents for Guyana when his citizenship was not confirmed should be suspended immediately pending investigation the Minister has ordered.
I totally agree
Could someone explain to me the foreign service credentials of this woman?
NONE
apart from here etnicity, NONE
Zip…
Zero…
Nada…
Bupkas…
(1/x) as x -> infinity
and so on
blacksage,
The only qualifications that is needed to be a Government
Minister in the PPP Administration is your membership and
loyalty to the party.
i would kind of agree with this woman as there is two females there who thinks they own the place they treat ypu badly… they don’t ever want to listen what they say they want people to accept and if you object you get the run around of your life…they got 1 in new york too at the consulate..
i can say yes to that i explain to this woman and still she did not listen… she put me on to her superior who was a man his words “LADY I AM READING THE CONSTITUTION OF GUYANA TO YOU SO LISTEN EVEN IF YOU LEFT FOR FORTY YRS YOU ARE STILL A GUYANESE” Anyone who is a guyanese and uplift a foreign passport apply to be removed for the guyana registery. I was told since i did not apply NOT TO BE A GUYANESE MY CHILDREN BORN IN US ARE CONSIDERED GUYANESE…
So is the boy a Guyanese or not? SN please investigate. I was born in Guyana and I have a child born outside of Guyana. Is my child a Guyanese?
Pat they are not competent enough to answer that query..
Stabroek News I would like to know the same thing. I am Guyanese by birth, my wife is not Guyanese, do my children who were born outside of Guyana automatically qualify for Guyanese citizenship?
Moderator’s note: They qualify for Guyanese citizenship by virtue of you being a citizen.
no your child is achild of the the country he was born in, this woman needs to go to an attorney for help the reason why is that the son i guess was asked seeeing that his parents are guyanese do you have relatives there.and i guess he say yes so they would send him there–remember that his parent left and went to surimane and he was born there,but the parent never got dutch critenship so in this case he pick up dual critizenship so either country could accept him
It’s troubling, you are rigt, SN should investigate. My youngest, now in her twenties, was born in Saudi Arabia, came to Guyana at the age of two-and-a half and has always had a Guyanese passport. What will happen now when her passport needs renewing?
Pat, according the laws of Guyana, your child can obtain Guyanese citzenship, BUT (and a big BUT here) he is not a Guyanese, your child is a national of the country of birth, however, in this case, this man here is being deported from the USA, THE MAN HERE HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD AND THEREFORE, CANNOT OBTAIN GUYANESE CITZENSHIP as his place of birth is Suriname, BUT to Guyanese parents, most likey, Suriname considers him an anchor baby, meaning he was born there so that the Guyanese family can easily obtain Surinamese citzenship, my guess, there is more to this story, maybe the man requested he is sent to Guyana, but our Embassy in Washington upon seeing he is Suriname born with a criminal background should have refused him travel documents. I am glad he was sent back.
Thank you Moderator for that confirmation on the requirement for persons born outside of Guyana to Guyanese parentage to become citizens.
Now I direct the loud mouthed PPP propagandist blogger, Freespeech to your response for his edification. For it is stupid to be willfully ignorant.
my my guyana is over – If you can confirm he picked up Guyanese citizenship at some point in life, then you are right. Otherwise, he is not guyanese. The mother said he has a Surinamese passport and he entered the us on that (I will assume legally).
For the child to have automatically Guyanese citizenship the birth has to registered at a Guyana Mission (consulate or embassy) in the country of birth.
gal, yu gat fu regista the birth, yu jus cant gu and get citazen when it suit yu purpos.
there are no records of him.
Pat it is simple as Freespeech said when the child born did you register the child at the consulate? if not then the child is not Guyanese sorry but we can only accept you not your child.
La Dorada,
If your child is going to be deported i sorry for you it is straight to Saudi and not here. lolololol for your child to be deport to Guyana is not fair it’s a heavier burden to us. LOLOL. Do your child have a Saudi Bithto Or Pappel?
According to the Moderator’s note, a child born to Guyanese parents is eligible for guyanese citizenship, however, if the parents never registered the child as Guyanese at anytime during his life then he can’t be deported here. Further they should be a cut off point for registration of foreign births, let say before the age of 5. After then you can acquire citizenship but should not be seen as a bona fide Guyanese in which case if you commit crimes you can not be deported to Guyana.
My understanding is once either parent is guyanese, the child can claim, guyanese citizeship, but need to follow the correct procedure, I believe the first step means getting a birth certificate issued from the Guyanese authority. I have a half sister, who just complete this process.
Bis you are absolutely correct.There is a law on the books of Guyana that stipulates that if an offspring is born in ANY country of the world from one or both Guyanese parents, then that child is considered a Guyanese if he or she claims it.
America has a similar law.My cousin’s daughter was born n Guyana from a relationship he had there while he was on active military duty.He susequently married the young lady and filed for her.His daughter was given an American passpot to leave Guyana after the embassy did a paternity test to prove the child was his.
THe child returned with him and was enroll in school about fourtenn months before his wife got her visa.
so if you are comming to the us and you are from guyana and give birth to a child in the air over cuba what is the child birth place.
REPUBLIC OF GUYANA
rayman – his/her birth place is exactly where it is. His/her citizenship depends on what is the laws of the land he/she happens to born on. If it happens in the UK, the parents can only apply for guyanese citizenship (if both are guyanese and not permanent resident of the uk). If it happens in canada or the us, the parents can apply for citizenship of place of birth.
That’s a good observation Rayman. What if the birth occured over international airspace? I am sure they have international laws concerning those things. Have you seen the movie “Terminal” starring Tom Hanks. It was based on a true story about a man who was refused entry into the USA. They could not send him back to his home country because of complications. The guy lived at the airport for weeks.
Rayman:
Pregnant persons are allowed on airlines only before a certain period, but the question you asked was answered by Sister.
Rayman, you are missing the point. It doesn’t matter where the child is born, as long as one of the parents is guyanese, the parent may if they choose to, register the birth with the Guyana consulate so that child is entitled to guyanese citizenship. However, if I was in that situation, I would first register my child with the US authorities.
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is one of the Guyanese government officials who months ago was pushing for Bajans to accept thousands of illegal Guyanese immigrants who have no ties what-so-ever to Barbados, but now she doesn’t want Guyana to accept a man whose parents are Guyanese. Interesting.
interesting comment. I wish one of the reporters can ask her that question at her next press briefing.
illegals they were there working and help build UR economy. What will he do for guyana?
Good comment. Time for the minister to give us her take on this.
Such a good question!!! I would love to hear what she has to say about this.
As for you James, last time I checked, “ILLEGAL” meant breaking the law, therefore illegal immigrants are immigrants who are breaking the law! It is a double standard for her to demand that the Barbadians accept illegal Guyanese just because they are good workers. BTW, some of the illegals that she is pressing for are committing other crimes.
Following is what SN reported that President Jagdeo said about the treatment of Guyanese in Caricom countries in an article published during the Caricom summit in July 2009:
“Jagdeo restated his position on the issue saying that if nationals are treated in such a manner by their own people then the region cannot expect a third country to receive its citizens in any better way. He said too that the region’s work will remain incomplete until the day a child born anywhere in the Caribbean can wake up to a Caribbean minus boundaries and nationalities.”
Ahh, in this case, the deportee was born in Suriname, which, last I heard, is a member of Caricom, so why can’t he wake up in Guyana without Guyanese quibbling about the fact that he was born in Suriname? According to President Jagdeo, there should be no borders.
Also, if Guyanese can kick out a man who has two Guyanese parents without any qualms, how can they expect another country “to receive its citizens in any better way?”
The hypocrisy of the Guyanese government and people is unbelievable.
bajegal,
Very good observation.
I love this, I will like Mr Wiggins from Barbados to deal with her on your comment bajegal.
Bajegal have you read the green paper on immigration reform? Our PM is proposing that if a child is born in Barbados to non Barbadian parents that child is not entitled to Barbadian citizenship. You and I know Barbadian law entitles a child born overseas to at least one Barbadian parent to citizenship by descent. A person who is a naturalized American citizen and commits a crime can be deported from the US to their birth country even if they have no relatives in the birth country. The US has deported thousands of these criminals over the years to various countries, especially the Caribbean.
Don’t we all make mistakes.
Moderator, question for you: If someone is born in the US to Guyanese parents what is that person’s nationality?
Moderator’s note: He can have dual citizenship. Article 44 of the Guyana Constitution says that a person born outside of Guyana shall become a citizen of Guyana if his father or mother is a citizen of Guyana.
Thank you Moderator for that confirmation citizenship rights to persons born outside of Guyana to Guyanese parentage.
Now I direct the loud mouthed PPP propagandist blogger, Freespeech to your response for his edification. For it is stupid to be willfully ignorant.
SOL, The USA does not recognise dual citzenship, and your off spring is an American citizen, if the Guyanese parent/s is/are legally admitted or are naturalised citizens of the USA.
yu can have dual citizen butt yu mus regist it. get in yu ed, yu mus regista. the wod is REGISTA.
ppp dismisal mek yu gan maad, yu na remba wa den teach ya.
BR – shall become, its not automatic. they can become if they want to. if they don’t apply then they are not a citizen. I guess when they were in suriname the parents never thought they will need guyana again.
to whom it may concern… that question does not reflect my situation..it was for factual information in view of some conflicting and confused comments here.
Thank you moderator for your information.
Sister for your info, the minister of health dr. ramsammy has dual citizenship, he’s american also guyanese.