He Director of the National Immigration Service, Luis Eduardo Thayer, warned in Cooperativa that a modification last year to the respective law «prevents» the judicial expulsions of foreigners who have been convicted of drug trafficking to low prison sentences.and that this even carries the risk that they could be released.
In conversation with What’s left of the daythe head of Immigration pointed out that during 2023 «we have had a decrease» in deportations ruled by courts, «because if we compare with 2022, there were 1,035, and this year we are at 529.»
That, he specified, «is because there is a difficulty since there was a legal modification that prevents the deportation of people convicted under the drug law with sentences of less than 5 years and one day.»
Is about a provision of the Immigration and Immigration Law that introduced a change to law 18,216 on alternative penalties.
Thayer explained that foreign citizens sentenced for other crimes to less than 5 years and one day in prison, «can be replaced by expulsion,» but if it is Law 20,000, «they cannot be commuted, and it is problematic because they can opt for other options, such as probation.
«The rule applies to those who have committed the crime after February 2022. Therefore, the effect on the impossibility of expelling them is being experienced today. The volume of people convicted of drugs with low sentences and who are foreigners is around 740. «They cannot be expelled because the law prevents it,» he said.
In this context, he highlighted that «Last year the Government presented a bill to allow us to expel them, was approved by the Chamber (of Deputies) and is now in the Senate,» and urged that ««It is important that the modification can be processed in a timely manner.»
Meanwhile, he highlighted that «so far this year we have 253 administrative expulsions materialized: we have already carried out more than in 2020 (202) and 2021 (246), and we are going to surpass those of 2018 (302) because we have many decrees left to materialize «.
FAILED EXPULSION FLIGHT TO VENEZUELA
On the other hand, given the lack of coordination in the versions that the Government was providing about the failed expulsion flight to Venezuela Last week, Thayer again clarified that «what happened is that the permission that the Venezuelan aeronautical authority must give to the airline did not arrive at the time it should have arrived, and It was decided to postpone the flight until it was guaranteed that the permit would arrive on time.«.
However, of the 12 Venezuelan citizens who had to be deported by administrative order, he explained that «six have already been expelled on commercial flights and two are already detained by the PDI and will be expelled between today and tomorrow.»
The remaining four «had presented appeals for protection in court on Tuesday and Wednesday; these have no precedents in the country or in the country of origin, and the Court accepted the appeals, considering that they have roots» in the country, he noted.
They were also going to be sent on the plane 48 «judicial expelledpeople who are deprived of liberty and have already served their sentence, and that the Justice established that they should be expelled.» Currently «they are in prisons and are being expelled on commercial flights.»