Challenges for Mobility under COVID-19: The Case of Trinidad and Tobago

On March 12, 2020, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago reported its first detected case of COVID-19 and acted quickly by adopting public health regulations involving the strict implementation of social-distancing measures, the closure of activity centers, the suspension of all non-essential activity, restrictions on civil liberties, and the closure of borders. To date, Trinidad and Tobago had recorded a total of 147 COVID-19 cases, none of which had been transmitted through community spread.

Read this article in English here: COVID-19 and Venezuelan Migrants in Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has 16,523 registered Venezuelan migrants and an undetermined number of unregistered migrants within its jurisdiction. UNHCR and other sources estimate that the total figure may range between 24,000 and 34,000 migrants.

In its fight against COVID-19, the state guaranteed that all medical services in the country would be accessible to both citizens and migrants, warning that discriminatory practices against migrants in health centers and hospitals would lead to a public health catastrophe if cases among the migrant population went undetected and untreated.

Government action undoubtedly saved innumerable lives and ensured that the public hospital system was not overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. However, the states strict public response had adverse effects on those in greater vulnerability in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly migrants and asylum seekers, leading to an extremely fragile economic situation for them.

Migrants and asylum seekers mostly work in the informal sector, which was among the sectors hardest hit by the government-ordered economic shutdown intended to contain the outbreak. This left migrants with fewer possibilities for generating income. In addition, their status as foreigners made them ineligible for state food, financial, and housing assistance.

Persistent inequalities

The sudden loss of income, together with the lack of national social-assistance programs responding to their needs, led to a higher risk of eviction and food insecurity for migrant households, and many among them reported that they could not stay at home in compliance with public health regulations unless they received some level of food or cash assistance.

In some cases, the loss of regular income, together with the absence of a social safety net for migrants, increased risky coping mechanisms and behaviors that migrant women in particular adopted. There are reports of arrests of Venezuelan women at COVID parties across the island. Irregular migrants also reported fearing detention at roadblocks or police checkpoints during the three-month lockdown while on their way to work.

These migrant experiences reinforce the imperative need for Trinidad and Tobago to adopt a more comprehensive legislative framework for the protection of migrants and refugees, allowing them to access and benefit from the protections they so badly need. Until such reforms are made, migrants and refugees will continue to be rendered invisible and forced to take unnecessary risks, especially in the event of natural disasters and health crises such as the one currently being experienced.

Postscript

After this article was originally written in June, Trinidad and Tobago recorded cases of COVID-19 that brought the total to 148. Of the 18 most recent cases, 4 were under epidemiological investigation, indicating that the sources were unknown and that this could be a first sign of local or community contagion within the population. On Saturday, July 24, a dramatic shift regarding Venezuelan migrants became visible when the Ministry of National Security announced new measures criminalizing the presence of migrants in irregular situations on Trinidadian territory during the pandemic, labeling them undesirable and declaring that those who provide assistance to them or who rent to them are accomplices in human trafficking or guilty of the offense of harboring an illegal immigrant, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.