A Trinidadian nightclub assistant manager and four Jamaicans will be removed from Antigua this week following their guilty pleas to immigration offenses in Magistrate’s Court.
The group, ranging in age from 28 to 39, admitted before Senior Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel that they had remained in the country beyond their authorized stay.
The defendants come from various professional backgrounds and residential areas across the island. Cornelius Thomas, 39, holds a management position at a Nevis Street nightclub, Boardroom. The four Jamaican nationals include Perry Bay resident Marcel Parker, 34, who operates as an independent contractor; Kizzy Johnson, 36, a beauty professional living on St. John’s Street; Javon Keroy Watson, 28, a Bendals-based carpenter who is self-employed; and Luckicy Andra McDermott, 34, a barber who has been residing in Yorks Village.
Following their guilty pleas, Senior Magistrate Emanuel issued removal orders for all five individuals. They are currently being held at the immigration detention facility, where they will remain under custody until their scheduled departure later this week.
So they didn’t know to go and extend their stay. Only on Antigua
Navigating immigration is unclear. I just leave the country and come back later because the bureaucracy is so disorganized. But not everybody can afford to do that.
Only in Antigua? You’ll so limited it’s scary. Where in the world you don’t have a breach of migration policy?
I don’t wish deportation on anybody, but if your time is up and you don’t renew your status, this is what happens. The law is the law and that is simple
Some of these folks really contribute to the place carpenters, barbers, contractors. Hope immigration can find a way to make the process easier.
I’m surprised!
No call for their release yet?
Not necessary anyways, just go out today and come back shortly afterwards. Nobody up there will know the difference, I presumed?
So how were they rounded up? Did immigration officials go around looking for illegal people? Do the strippers at the Boardroom all have time on their passport?
It’s tough to see anyone having to leave, but rules are rules. Hope they get the support they need.
I don’t like to see people getting sent home, but at least they pleaded guilty and the matter is handled. Hope they reach back safe.
Plenty of these people come here to work hard and help the economy, so it’s sad. But we also need proper systems so everyone here is documented and safe
This is happening because people finding it too hard to get extensions. Immigration really needs to review how they treat foreign workers. The process long and stressful
Some of them living here for years and working. Why didn’t they sort out their paperwork? Antigua nice, but you have to follow the rules.