Leadnaija
The Namibian ambassador to the United States (US) has dismissed president Donald Trump’s purported deportation LIST which has been circulating online.
This comes after a total of 19 Namibians were featured on a list for deportation of more than one million non-citizens purportedly shared by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday.Tap Here To Read Full Details
The over-one million migrants are individuals on the non-detained docket who have final orders of removal from the US.
Ambassador Margaret Mensah-Williams yesterday told The Namibian that their office had received a formal communication from the Department of Human Services (DHS), which advised all embassies to disregard the so-called “Trump deportation list,” clarifying that ICE did not issue the document.
“The DHS has advised all embassies to disregard the so-called ‘Trump deportation list’ clarifying that ICE did not issue this document. Therefore, it’s not valid,” she said.
Mensah-Williams added that ICE will continue its standard process, which includes requesting travel documents from diplomatic missions if needed for individuals with final removal orders and no legal barriers to their deportation from various countries.
The ambassador said should there be any changes in this situation, “the mission will keep the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation informed and updated.”
Among the 19 Namibians, the list – purported to be from the US government to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records – includes 1 867 African nationals.
These include 12 from Botswana, 379 from South Africa, six from Eswatini, 14 from Mozambique, 662 from Angola, 174 from Zambia, 56 from Malawi and 545 from Zimbabwe.
Political analyst Marius Kudumo yesterday said the event that the US decides to deport Namibians, they should formally notify the Namibian government as outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR), or risk impacting Namibian-US diplomatic relations.
The VCDR is an international treaty that sets rules for how countries handle diplomatic relations. In the case of Namibians who might have criminal records in the US which could be viewed as grounds for deportation, Kudumo said the US is still bound by international human rights law.
“The US has an obligation to respect the dignity of every person – irrespective of the offence that they might have committed – within the confines of the law, including international human rights law,” he said.
