00:00Former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is challenging Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besasa
00:05to explain the circumstances surrounding calls for the revocation of his United States visa.
00:11Rowley is also questioning whether the government has reported other Trinidad and Tobago nationals
00:16to U.S. authorities for possible visa cancellation.
00:20Here's more.
00:22The issue of U.S. visas and revocations has become another point of political contention
00:28with former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley now directly challenging the government to explain its actions.
00:35Rowley, in a Facebook post, is responding to what he describes as warnings and threats from UNC figures
00:41and others close to the party suggesting citizens could lose their U.S. visas.
00:47But he says recent information publicly issued by the U.S. authorities provide a framework
00:52for understanding when visas can be revoked.
00:56He wrote to Facebook saying, quote,
00:58Visas were revoked from persons because they violated the terms of their U.S. visa,
01:03committed crimes, called for violence against U.S. citizens,
01:07defrauded Americans, abused the immigration system, or endangered national security, end quote.
01:14The U.S. Department of State has publicly emphasized that visa decisions are based on
01:19eligibility, security, and public safety considerations.
01:23Its guidance says a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right, and that applicants are subject to vetting
01:30to determine whether they meet the requirements for admission.
01:34Against that backdrop, Dr. Rowley is asking a pointed question to the Prime Minister.
01:39Which of these offenses were they guilty of?
01:43That question, Rowley asked on the backdrop of what he says were calls by Kamala Passat-Bassassar and others,
01:50who even, he said, wrote to the U.S. government calling for the visas of both Stuart Young and Dr.
01:57Rowley to be cancelled.
01:59But Dr. Rowley goes further, raising questions about another unnamed individual whose visa, he says,
02:06was cancelled before the current administration came into office.
02:09He wrote, quote,
02:11Is the Prime Minister prepared to share with the country which of these offenses her close friend
02:16and messenger violated, resulting in the cancellation of his visa well before she came into office, end quote.
02:24Rowley is demanding greater transparency over whether the government has made similar representations
02:30concerning other citizens.
02:32He said, quote,
02:33Besides Rowley and Young, how many other citizens she and her government have reported to the U.S. government
02:40with a recommendation to have their visas cancelled, end quote.
02:44The former Prime Minister's intervention comes as the visa issue continues to generate political debate,
02:50with questions now extending beyond individual visa status,
02:54to the circumstances under which information about Trinidad and Tobago nationals may be communicated to a foreign government.
03:03The U.S. Department of State says its visa adjudication process includes screening for national security,
03:10public safety concerns, as well as whether applicants intend to comply with the terms of their admission.
03:16Dr. Rowley is now calling on the Prime Minister to account publicly for the government's role
03:22and to distinguish political allegations from the grounds on which U.S. authorities actually make visa decisions.
03:30Urvashi Tawari, Rupnarain, TV6 News.
03:34Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Basasa, in responding to assertions made by former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley,
03:40told TV6, quote,
03:42I think the U.S. State Department news release is self-explanatory, end quote.
03:47The State Department says more than 175,000 visas have been revoked under the Trump administration
03:55for reasons including visa violations, criminal activity, fraud, abuse of the immigration system,
04:03calls for violence against Americans, and threats to national security.
04:07It says the majority resulted from law enforcement encounters involving offenses including assault,
04:15driving under the influence, theft, and drug crimes.
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