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Vol. 30, Issue 1 QUEENS/LONG ISLAND/BRONX/MANHATTAN Jan. 4–10, 2019
Watson’s time
Motivational Speaker Dennis Rahim Watson entertains the audience. See story on
Page 3. The People of the Sun Middle Passage
By Nelson A. King
With President Donald J.
Trump and the federal government
waging war against
Caribbean and other immigrants,
New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo has granted pardons to
individuals convicted of minor
offenses from deportation.
Cuomo said on Monday
that he was granting clemency
to 29 immigrants “who
have demonstrated substantial
evidence of rehabilitation and
a commitment to community
crime reduction.”
“While President Trump
shuts down the federal government
over his obsession with
keeping immigrants out, New
York stands strong in our support
for immigrant communities,”
said Cuomo in making
the announcement. “These
actions will help keep immigrant
families together and
take a critical step toward a
more just, more fair and more
compassionate New York.”
The governor said the pardons
are in recognition of
the immigrants’ “rehabilitative
efforts and to remove the
barriers that their criminal
records present to their immigration
status.
“Some are facing deportation,
while others wish to
be able to participate in their
communities as citizens of the
country they call home,” he
said. “In each case, a pardon
will make immigration-related
relief possible, if not automatic.”
Cuomo said every recipient
is in good standing, “having
given back to their communities
and families in a variety
of ways, and having demonstrated
a substantial period of
crime-free, good citizenship.”
The governor said it was the
fifth time that he has used his
pardon authority to protect
individuals facing potential
deportation, including most
recently in August, when he
issued a pardon to an individual
on the morning of his
deportation hearing and in
July when he issued pardons
to seven other individuals.
Those granted pardons on
Monday included six Dominican
Republic nationals, five
Jamaicans, and one Trinidadian,
Haitian and Cuban.
Continued on Page 14
By Bert Wilkinson
Felled and disabled by a Dec.
21 successful opposition no
confidence motion, Guyana’s
government Monday vowed
not to resign as required by the
constitution and will instead
contend in a legal brief that
the house speaker and clerk
erred in allowing the motion
to pass with a majority of 33
rather than 34 votes in the
65-member assembly.
Attorney General Basil Williams
said the brief will be
handed to Speaker Barton
Scotland before the parliament
meets on Thursday to
deliberate on the effects of the
motion which succeeded after
government lawmaker Charrandass
Persaud voted with the
32 opposition members to give
them a majority of one over
government. He has since fled
to Canada and is now campaigning
for the main opposition
People’s progressive Party
(PPP) in several videos making
the social media rounds.
But a massive row has broken
out in Caribbean Community
nation after a string of
prominent lawyers and cabinet
ministers argued that 34 rather
than 33 votes are needed as
half of 65 human seats is 32.5
so a majority has to be rounded
up to 33 and then one more for
a majority of 34. The legal brief
will likely be debated at Thursday’s
sitting before government
formally heads to court
for a once and for all ruling as
to whether a simple majority
of 33 is required or an absolute
one of 34.
The loss of the vote at the
Dec. 21 historic sitting required
that government resigns,
switches to a caretaker role and
prepares the country for fresh
elections in 90 days, about a
year and half before constitutionally
due. But the 90-day
deadline remains in jeopardy
as both minister Williams and
Continued on Page 14
Caribbean immigrants get clemency
GOV’T
WON’T
BUDGE
Guyana’s government gives
legal brief to speaker
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