Government has been asked to regularize the status of Venezuelans who have official migrant cards and have no police record.
The call was made by Opposition leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In a release on Monday, she said Venezuelans who contribute to this country’s economy and who have been living here for the past three years should be allowed to apply for driver’s licenses, access medical care, pay taxes and their children should be enrolled in our schools.
She said Venezuelan migrants should be allowed to pay all applicable taxes as Trinidad and Tobago citizens and to begin contributing to the National Insurance System (NIS).
Persad-Bissessar said part of the medical staff should be trained in basic Spanish so that Venezuelans can receive proper attention at our national health facilities and allow them to access all medical care.
“The time has come for us to treat all of our brothers and sisters who have come here from Venezuela like fellow human beings deserving of respect and equal opportunity,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said what is even more disheartening is that Venezuelan children cannot be enrolled in our public schools.
“All children, whatever their status, have a right to education. This government is denying thousands of migrant children in this country an education. How inhuman can one government be?,” she said.
She said her call for these migrant Venezuelan children to be allowed a formal education is premised on the realities that migrant children will now become de facto naturalized citizens of this country by virtue of being raised here.
She said it is fair to assume that these migrant children, being raised in Trinidad, will not necessarily easily acclimatize to Venezuela, and therefore become a part and parcel of our society.
Persad-Bissessar noted that during the past three years, many Venezuelan migrants have obtained gainful employment or started their own small businesses.
She added that many Venezuelans have married Trinidad and Tobago citizens and have borne children.
These children, she said, would be citizens of T&T by virtue of having been born here.
“Unfortunately, many face exploitation, discrimination and denigration, simply because of their status and their presence here in order to escape the poverty, persecution and violence of their homeland,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said she is extremely disappointed that the Government has not yet seen it fit to honour Trinidad and Tobago’s international obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Instead the government implemented a haphazard policy in 2020, and they recklessly failed to follow up on supporting policies and laws, she said.
Persad-Bissessar said further that due to their temporary and unpredictable status, the majority of Venezuelan migrants have been denied access to banking facilities, elective medical treatment at public institutions and recognition of their educational qualifications.
Migrants, she noted, cannot obtain drivers permits and they cannot be registered for National Insurance.
“They cannot tell employers that it’s ok to hire them because their migrant permits have expired and their academic qualifications are not recognized . They are unbanked and vulnerable to exploitation,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said Venezuelans cannot go to court to declare that they have a legitimate expectation to a renewal.
She added that this country’s public primary healthcare system is open to Venezuelans but questioned how effective it is, when our medical staff do not speak their language.
“Some Venezuelans have had children in this country, but are afraid to register the births. Some want to get married, but are also afraid to interface with the authorities. They should not be made to live in fear in a free country,” she said Persad-Bissessar.
She reiterated her call for the Rowley Government to relieve the suffering of Venezuelan migrants and their children and allow those who are law abiding and contributing to our economy to be fully integrated into our society.