MR RICKEY SINGH, I happen to be an immigration consultant living overseas who has, over many years, been a regular visitor to lovely Barbados. As such, I have a very intimate knowledge of what goes on here.

Your article of Friday, November 14, really sends me back to those days when journalists just wrote without thinking.

You begin by saying that persons being repatriated had contravened the immigration laws of the land. Should not people who break laws be made to pay or do you reward them?

Do you need a chief immigration officer or minister of immigration to explain this? Shame on you!

Your concern is seemingly its magnitude and timing. Has it not occurred to you that perhaps for many years this problem was allowed to officially continue until it has reached epidemic proportions, and something needs to be done to arrest it?

When such people come to the immigration's attention, should they be allowed to go and asked to leave voluntarily? Come on, Mr Singh, we live in a real world.

By the way, sir, all over the world governments are tidying up their immigration policies/laws. So why should Barbados be exempted?

I thank God that the Barbados Government has seen the wisdom in putting effective management and systems in place to make sure that immigration does not continue to run amok.

Bless you, Prime Minister Thompson. Don't ever let the likes of Mr Singh or the Guyanese or Barbadian prominent citizens mentioned in his article derail you. I am sure the whole Barbadian citizenry is behind you 100 per cent.

Did not the survey on the point at issue conducted by this illustrious newspaper support this on Sunday, November 9? The great people of Barbados voted for change and change they expect to see.

– ORIN PEARCE