33 illegals detained
over the weekend
PHILIPSBURG--Immigration in St. Maarten has shifted its strategy for conducting raids and is taking advantage of the element of surprise, which yielded 33 arrests of illegal residents over the weekend.
Police spokesman Chief Inspector Johan “Janchi” Leonard said Monday that the controls were part of a strategic new approach by the Immigration Department. He said there would be no advance warning and they would not be done in an open manner that would “tip off” persons that Immigration was conducting controls.
Leonard said six of the 33 persons detained were nationals of the Dominican Republic, six were Guyanese, eight were Jamaicans, eight were Haitians, one was Brazilian, one was Trinidadian, one was Dominican, one was St. Lucian and one was Kittitian.
Leonard said these illegals had all been processed for repatriation. He said it was very important that legal residents of St. Maarten carry identification and proof of legal residence to avoid embarrassing situations such as being hauled away to the police station.
