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By Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#St.KittsandNevis, July 26, 2023 – St. Kitts and Nevis has created an Anti-Smuggling Bill and made amendments to the Immigration Act and the Transnational Crimes Act to combat human trafficking. This is according to Garth Wilkin, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, at a recent press conference.

Despite the fact that human trafficking is prevalent in the region, this development seems to follow a recent incident in St. Kitts and Nevis where a migrant boat with 30 Cameroonians, coming from Antigua and Barbuda sank within its territorial waters, resulting in the unfortunate death of 16 West Africans at sea.

The remaining 14 Cameroonians and their alleged Antiguan traffickers were brought to the country and the Cameroonians were granted Asylum Seeker Certificates by the Government, according to a press statement on June 11th.

Under the terms of the certificates, the Government will give the temporary housing in an apartment complex for 90 days as their asylum applications undergo processing.

The migrants, as highlighted by the Government, in efforts to get to the US, expressed that they wanted to get in contact with the U.S. Embassy for the Eastern Caribbean and requested permission to join relatives and friends residing in Texas.

But the Government informed them that their request was beyond their power.