PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago government says it has deported 160 Venezuelans who had illegally entered the country,

In a statement on Saturday night, the Ministry of National Security said that  the deportations were carried out in conjunction with the Venezuelan authorities and in compliance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and that the Ministry of National Security remains resolute in upholding the laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and in fulfillment of Government policy.

The statement came following an earlier court hearing before Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams in which the judge ordered that 19 Venezuelan nationals, included in the 160, were to have their deportation orders quashed and be allowed to remain in this country.

They were to be released from the quarantine facility at the heliport in Chaguaramas and be under the supervision by the State pending the outcome of their asylum applications with the Living Waters Community, the implementing partner with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Trinidad and Tobago.

Attorneys Criston J Williams, Kerrina Samdeo and Jerome Riley had filed applications on behalf of the 19, seeking their release from State custody. The attorneys also sought permission from the court for the 19 to be granted permission to file judicial review proceedings against the State’s decision to have them deported.

The applications were granted by Justice Quinlan-Williams during a teleconference hearing, but in spite of this, the 19 were placed on vessels and sent back to their home country.

They were ordered to be released and placed on State supervision.

In a telephone interview, Williams said he was perplexed by claims made by the State that it never received the court’s order to stay the deportation of his clients.

He said the order was forwarded electronically via Microsoft SharePoint, to the Ministry of National Security the Office of the Chief Immigration Officer and the Chief of Defence Staff, Williams said.

However, Williams stated he was later informed by the State that it never received the order and therefore, the deportation was carried out legally.

“They were served with notice of the proceedings at 9.40 a.m. When the matter was called at 11 a.m., they did not appear and after the order was made, it was sent to them but they claimed they never received it. ” said Williams.

The attorney said the State later requested that the documents be sent via the WeShare application but this application, he said, was not secure and posed a real threat of clients’ private information being intercepted by third parties.

Williams said he believed the State was continuing to flout court orders, making reference to the deportation of another group of Venezuelan asylum seekers even while they had legal proceedings set to take place before the court..

In its statement, the ministry made mention of the criticism leveled against it by attorneys for the group of 19.

“While the Government acknowledges that there may be personal views surrounding the illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago by persons, the Government, through the Ministry of National Security and other arms of the State, will continue to apply the law and do all that it reasonably can to secure the borders and prevent illegal entry into Trinidad and Tobago,” it said.