13,000 Expatriates Deported In 10 Months

It is estimated that 13,000 expats of all nationalities were deported to their countries since the beginning of the current year 2020, until 27 October, due to their involvement in criminal cases and misdemeanors, and some of them were forced to leave in the public interest by a decision of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior Lieutenant, Al Qabas daily reported. This is in line with the government plan to restructure the demographics and remove residency visa violators and criminals from the labor market, the daily said, quoting security sources. 900 men and women are currently in deportation prison for arrangements to be made to leave the country.

The Al-Qabas daily, iterating security sources, that the accompanying measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus epidemic have reduced the numbers of deportees, compared to the previous two years, as 40,000 expats were deported in 2019, and 34,000 in 2018. The noticeable decrease in numbers was due to the closure of airports, as well as the total curfew period that obliged everyone to remain indoors.

Out of the 31,000 who were deported in the past ten months, the majority of them were based on judicial rulings in felonies and misdemeanors (about 90%), and 10% were administratively deported to the public health facility by a decision of the Ministry of Interior, according to sources.

900 men and women are currently in deportation prison, pending arrangements for their deportation to their home countries after completing their procedures. The deportation prison witnessed a major boom during the past period compared to the previous one, as the rate of deportation was faster compared to previous years.

There was also the opening of new wards for men and women, in order to prevent overcrowding and take into account the hygienic conditions of those behind the fences.

Dozens of expats against whom deportation decisions were issued are housed in the Department of Follow-up and Arrest of Violators of the General Administration of Residency Affairs, which receives them from other security departments, and then refers them to the Deportation Prison Department to deport them to their countries, because it is the only body authorized to deport residents.

Some citizens of countries, especially African countries, remain in custody for long periods due to the closure of their countries’ airports until now, and the others are associated with cases that are still pending before the Kuwaiti judiciary, and others remain due to decisions banning them from traveling because they have incurred financial debts they must pay before leaving the country.

Why did the security campaigns stop?

In regards to why the security campaign was put on hold, the security source told Al Qabas daily that the reason is the overcrowding in the deportation prison and other security departments, such as the residency investigation, the criminal investigation and others. In addition, there arises the difficulty of deporting many expats to their countries through transit flights following the ban list of 34 countries, under which flights can’t fly directly from Kuwait to the countries, and vice versa.

The sources indicated that strict instructions were issued by the MoI head officials to the concerned sectors not to tolerate any violations or breaking of the law, and to refer everyone involved in any case, huge or small, to the concerned authorities without complacency.

The halt of the security campaigns to arrest the residency law violators does not mean laxity. Patrols are spread in residential areas and places of workers and others to control conditions and stop crimes before they happen.

 

SOURCE: TIMESKUWAIT

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