Immigration officials in Grenada on Thursday gave a Jamaican journalist associated with the regional news agency CARIBUPDATE 24 hours to leave the country. Tanesha Thomas, formerly a reporter with the Gleaner newspaper in Kingston, had been in Grenada on special assignment for CARIBUPATE, which is based in Hollywood, Florida, and is owned by Grenadian-born journalist Hamlet Mark. Thomas has been CARIBUPDATE's Special Caribbean Political Correspondent since January 1, 2008, and had been sent on assignment to St George's to cover the build-up to likely general elections in Grenada. On Thursday, four immigration officials took the Jamaican reporter into custody, claiming she had overstayed her time in the country. Thomas, who has a return ticket out of Grenada for the first week in March, showed officials that her passport was stamped until August 2, 2008. It was, however, claimed by an immigration officer that the date was interpreted incorrectly, saying that it should have been the eighth day of the second month, rather than the second day of the eighth month. Mark, the owner of the news agency, said that after discussions with the immigration officials they acknowledged that there might have been a mix-up, and they were satisfied that Thomas had no intention of overstaying in Grenada or breaking any laws. Mark said, given that scenario, he offered to have the situation regularised so that Thomas can complete the assignment, but they insisted that she should leave on the next available flight to Kingston on Friday. Caribbean Net News understands that, while Thomas has not been formally deported by immigration, she is not allowed to stay. "Her biggest sin is that she is associated with me and CARIBUPDATE, and somebody somewhere might be uncomfortable with the kind of reporting we do," Mark said. "After all this is the political season, and a few people around here are getting a little too edgy for their own good," he said. While Thomas was in immigration custody on Thursday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell was contacted for his intervention in the matter as the Minister for National Security and Immigration. In a brief meeting with the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Barry Collymore, Mark said that he viewed the development as a direct attack against him, his company and the work that it does, and that he is convinced that the immigration officials were working under direct instruction. According to Mark, on Thomas’s arrival it was made clear to immigration officers at the airport that she would be in Grenada for 10 weeks on special assignment through the US-based CARIBUPDATE, and at the time no objection was raised. He also noted it is the kind of thing they have done in about half a dozen other Caribbean islands and never had a problem. "We have moved in, done extended assignments and moved out. But Grenada now seems to be the exception," he said. The Grenada immigration department said Thomas will be free to return immediately if she chooses, and that she can get a CARICOM national skills certificate from her native Jamaica. However they turned down CARIBUPDATE's request to have her stay, and have the document they are demanding handed in "within a few days." Caribbean Net News understands that a high level immigration officer stated that if Thomas cannot get a flight on Friday to leave Grenada she must present them with documents indicating her intention to leave the country. However, if this is done, they would continue to monitor the situation closely. The Media Workers Association of Grenada, in light of these developments, issued a communiqué on the matter. MWAG said it is deeply concerned about the shabby treatment meted out to the Jamaican journalist, who has been effectively ordered to leave the country within 24 hours. MWAG noted that it registered strong suspicions about the circumstances surrounding Thomas's forced departure from Grenada and the refusal by immigration officials to exercise their discretion in this matter. The communiqué further added that, based on inquiries, MWAG are satisfied that there may be sinister motive behind Thomas's forced departure from Grenada, rather than a concern about an immigration infraction. "We are also satisfied that the immigration agents themselves would have acted differently if they were not under specific instructions. In this case we have no choice but to sympathize with the immigration department for the difficult position with which they have been placed," the statement read. According to MWAG, the treatment of Thomas, a Jamaica journalist in Grenada, represents an attack on press freedom at a time when the region claims to be forging a single market that involves free movement of media professionals. Thomas is being represented by attorney at Law Peter David. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com