Several Bajans who have been confined for months, even years in federal immigration detention centres in the United States stand to gain their freedom in a matter of days, if not weeks.
And while the threat of deportation to Barbados will continue to hang over their heads like the proverbial sword of Damocles until their immigration cases have been resolved in court, the Bajans – like hundreds of immigrants from the rest of the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Europe and elsewhere – are being allowed to return to their private homes in the United States under what is being called strict supervised release, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
The unusual action is the direct result of the Obama administration’s effort to save money in the face of mandated federal budget cuts due to sequestration, the forced reduction in trillions of dollars of government spending.
Colin Mayers, Barbados’ Consul General in Miami, said that while his office hadn’t been officially informed so far about any releases of Bajans in the south, he won’t be caught off guard if and when they are freed. (TB)
