- Notes possibility of legal domiciles also losing employment
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is awaiting an official communication from the United States (US) regarding the reported plans to deport over 1.4 million illegal migrants including 3,065 Sri Lankans, The Daily Morning learns.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently revealed that 3,065 Sri Lankans are among the over 1.4 million illegal immigrants slated for deportation under the new administration led by President Donald Trump.
When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra said that the Government had not received any official communication from the US regarding the matter, but added that it is not mandatory for the US to issue such communication.
"According to the information that we’ve received, many people residing there legally may also lose their jobs. There is such an issue as well. Some policies are being revised. During a recent event, I inquired about this from US Embassy officials, but they are not in a position to say anything officially.'
In response to a query about whether the Government would seek an official clarification, he said that they believe that the US needs more time to communicate. “We can request a clarification, but we think that they need some more time. If someone is staying there illegally, that is against the law, and we should study to what extent we can intervene. However, this is still not clear, and we are waiting for an official communication to be received."
According to a document released by ICE, as of 24 November of last year (2024), there are 1,445,549 non-citizens on ICE’s non-detained docket with final orders of removal, and the said number includes 3,065 Sri Lankans. The US Government has requested foreign governments to take appropriate steps to confirm the citizenship of non-citizens suspected to be their nationals, which include conducting interviews, issuing travel documents in a timely manner, and accepting the physical return of their nationals by scheduled commercial or charter flights consistent with ICE and/or foreign Government removal guidelines. The lack of cooperation from countries in accepting the return of their nationals may lead to ICE classifying those countries as uncooperative or at-risk of non-compliance.
Currently, ICE considers 15 countries to be uncooperative: Bhutan, Burma, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Somalia, and Venezuela. ICE considers 11 countries to be at risk of non-compliance: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Gabon, Gambia, Iraq, Jamaica, Nicaragua, South Sudan, St. Lucia, and Vietnam.