00:00The Prime Minister weighs in on the opposition leader's campaign promise to deport every
00:07Venezuelan migrant offender to their homeland by any means necessary if members of the Venezuelan
00:13migrant community do not desist from engaging in criminal conduct.
00:17Crime in this country, whether it is being committed by indigenous people here or foreigners
00:26visiting us, are subject to the rule of law in Trinidad and Tobago.
00:31I don't know there's one citizen in this country who is saying, invite Venezuelan criminals
00:36to come here and criminalize us.
00:39That is just political disappointment.
00:44But again, there are some people who can only see the political opportunity.
00:50That sounds like something good, because somebody is saying to another country, and it's a big
00:55political point, and it was seen to have got favor in that country.
01:00During the post-Cabinet media briefing today, the Prime Minister made reference to the deportation
01:05plan of the United States President-elect Donald Trump.
01:11Deportation is a legal process, not a political process, even in the United States.
01:16With all that you see in there about deporting how many millions of people, it will all have
01:23to be done under a legal process, and where there may be challenges legally, and the degree
01:30of success will determine how successful you are in your legal response.
01:38The Prime Minister expressed concerns about the potential impact of the statements made
01:43by the opposition leader.
01:46Nobody wants criminals in our country, especially if they are coming to us from another country.
01:53Why do you think you have to come and say you will do it, and somebody else wouldn't do it?
01:58The reason why you're identifying yourself that you will do it is because you want credit.
02:02But you're implying that somebody else wouldn't want them, or somebody else is inviting them.
02:10This is a non-starter.
02:11It's just cheap politics.
02:14And what it does, it can hurt some people.
02:17And on the heels of criticism by the National Security Minister that his statements were
02:22reckless, the opposition leader reaffirms her position that illegal migrants who run
02:28afoul of the law will be deported.
02:30In a statement this morning, Kamala Basad Basasa accuses her critics of politically
02:36simping for criminals with fake outreach about xenophobia and hatred instead of standing
02:42up for our citizens' safety.
02:44The opposition leader reflects again on the kidnapping and murder of 69-year-old Winston
02:50Thomas by three Hispanic men, saying the man had an unpleasant interaction with Venezuelan
02:56migrants before the incident.
02:58She calls it astounding, saying that Ministers Brown, Imbert and Hines came more for criminal
03:04migrants than for Thomas and other like citizens.
03:08Basad Basasa credited nationals of TNT for being accommodating and generous to migrants.
03:14But she says TNT already has a local gang problem and does not need migrants coming
03:21here to commit crime.
03:22Her statement reads, quote, I stand solidly by my previous comments on the deportation
03:28of migrant criminals and reaffirm them.
03:31The well-being and safety of Trinidad and Tobago citizens must always come first.
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