PPP does not control US immigration or ICE – Jagdeo to Opposition

…says Melly Mel’s “deportation or stay is Trump admin’s call”

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has dismissed claims linking the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to the arrest of controversial social media personality Melissa Ann Atwell, also known as “Melly Mel,” by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo made it clear that the Guyanese government has no influence over US immigration policies or enforcement actions.
He also slammed the claim that the PPP influenced the US government to violate Atwell’s human rights, calling it “nonsense”, dismissing statements from the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and other critics, suggesting they were driven by anti-PPP sentiments rather than genuine concerns for Atwell’s rights.
“We don’t control ICE in the United States of America. They have a really high opinion of the People’s Progressive Party to think that we can control the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Unit of the United States of America. So, thank you, APNU, for thinking that we have all of these powers…if they have a problem with the Trump’s administration’s policies, they should protest to the US government directly. So, what they’re claiming, basically, is that Ms Atwell’s human rights have been violated. And that the PPP has gotten the Trump administration to violate our human rights… Of course, you know, this is nonsense,” the Vice President said.

Atwell’s arrest has sparked a protest from Guyana’s Opposition – PNC, AFC, APNU. A poorly attended vigil at the Square of the Revolution on Tuesday evening saw Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, MP Coretta McDonald, and members of the AFC faction, including Sherod Duncan and Cathy Hughes, calling for Atwell’s release. Protesters chanted, “Free Melly Mel!”
Jagdeo dismissed the protest as political opportunism, stating that whether Atwell remains in the US or is deported is solely a matter for US authorities.
“I said before, whether Ms Atwell remains in the United States of America, or she’s deported, is within the jurisdiction of the government of the United States of America. If she stays in the United States of America, we wish her well. If she comes home, she is welcome as a Guyanese. We don’t control what she says. She could say it from the United States of America, or she could say it, have her Facebook page in Guyana. For me, as General Secretary of the PPP, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where she is located,” he assured.
Reports indicate that US Homeland Security officers detained Atwell at her Brooklyn, New York apartment on March 13, after which she was handed over to ICE. She is currently in a Louisiana detention facility.
Jagdeo pointed out uncertainty over Atwell’s immigration status, noting that if she was a US citizen, her detention by ICE would be “unusual”. However, if she was not a US citizen, then she might be facing serious immigration issues.
“When a department like ICE apprehends you and holds you, it could be for only one reason. It’s for immigration-related offenses. And I thought, based on what someone said to me a couple days ago, that Ms Atwell was a US citizen, because I think that was posted by her that she’s a US citizen. But if she is a US citizen, as she posted, then this would be unusual. ICE holding her is unusual. But if not, then she may have further difficulties,” Jagdeo explained.
In response to Atwell’s arrest, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has stated his intention to lobby US congressmen about the situation. Jagdeo encouraged this move, sarcastically remarking that it’s better than blaming the PPP for US immigration enforcement.
Atwell will appear before a US Immigration Judge on March 28. She is currently at a detention facility at Louisiana. She was arrested in New York on March 13.