BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Aug 31 2016 – The Barbados Immigration Department is investigating a complaint by a Jamaican national that she and her 14-month-old son were mistreated by immigration officers when they arrived here over the weekend.
In a brief, two-paragraph statement, the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) quoted Chief Immigration Officer Wayne Marshall as saying the department would issue “a comprehensive response” following completion of the probe.
“Once the department’s investigations have been completed, a comprehensive response to the incident will be issued through the Barbados Government Information Service,” the release quoted the head of Immigration as saying.
On Monday, reports surfaced in the regional media that 24-year-old Sonia King had complained that she and her child were treated poorly by immigration officers when they arrived here from Trinidad on Saturday for a brief holiday.
She claimed that they were made to wait for hours, given a dirty mattress and blanket on which to sleep in cold, uncomfortable conditions, and told early the following morning that she was not welcomed here and would be sent back to Trinidad where she resides.
However, King claimed that after she boarded the aircraft she was escorted out by a security officer and taken to the immigration desk where her denial was reversed and she was granted a two-day stay in Barbados.
King also threatened to sue the Immigration Department over her treatment.
