Tonga considers deportation issues

TONGA – Deportee reintegration is a major concern for Tonga this week as US officials arrived to take part in a three-day conference with the Tongan government and law enforcement officials in Nuku‘alofa.

“Reintegration of citizens who sometimes don’t know their native land, tradition and culture is a challenge,” the US Ambassador to Tonga, Judith Cefkin, said.

The United States last year deported 19 Tongan citizens, with three so far in 2017.

Deportations are expected to increase under the new US administration’s hardline immigration policy over the next four years.

The conference is considering the mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, anger management and housing issues that Tonga will need to cope with the reintegration of foreign offenders into Tongan society.

Tonga’s Deputy Prime Minister and new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Siaosi Sovaleni, pointed out that social welfare programmes are not available in Tonga for deportees, who are socially dislocated on arrival and faced “significant” barriers to integration into the community.

He said that ethnic Tongans convicted of assault, burglary, drug-related charges, gang violence and other serious crimes are being deported from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and abroad to Tonga.

The conference aims to create a national policy on how to reintegrate Tongan citizens who have been deported from other countries.

Social dislocation upon arrival was a key factor affecting reintegration and getting employment. Many deportees had poor language skills and cultural connectedness.

Sovaleni said Tonga was open to new ideas and “to finding solutions to growing concerns in Tonga relating to reintegration of deportees.” - Matangi