Deportation of Cathy O. Richards is 'a lesson for all of us'- Angela U. Burns
Ms Richards, who is from Guyana, was convicted of uttering forged documents in July 2025 and was ordered deported from the Virgin Islands by Governor Daniel Pruce in October 2026.
“My heart is saddened by the turn of events, saddened to tears…but I’m so saddened by the whole situation,” Mrs Burns said in the video posted on AUB Media House’s YouTube page.
Wishing Cathy well
“I never thought I’d be doing this, but I just want to speak in solidarity. I’m not speaking in solidarity with Cathy or supporting any wrong that she may have done. I don’t know the facts, I don’t know the details, I'm just talking about what eventually transpired.”
The charges against Ms Richards stemmed from the renewal of work permit applications that were submitted to the Department of Labour and Workforce Development in 2021.
Mrs Burns, who herself came from Montserrat to the Virgin Islands in the 1990s following the volcanic eruption there, said her heart goes out to Ms Richards, adding that everybody makes mistakes. “I’m not saying that she should not be condemned or convicted or suffer the consequences because even the Bible tells me that the sins that I commit, that I will suffer for them.”
She acknowleged that the process for working in the Virgin Islands as a non-Virgin Islander or non-Belonger is one that should be followed, as it is the law. “We cannot circumvent the law.”
“I just want to wish her well, pray for her, and just say it’s a lesson for all of us because one minute you’re here and the next minute you’re not.”
‘God has prepared a table for you’
She went on to encourage Ms Richards, saying, “God has prepared a table before you, my dear sister…He has prepared a table before you, and watch and see how that table is going to be so full of a feast of food, of water, of provisions that you could not get in the British Virgin Islands.”
Mrs Burns further urged Ms Richards to give her life to Jesus, if she has not done so already.
“Just watch him use these past 10 years that you spent here in the Virgin Islands and how it eventually ended. He's going to use it for your good and for his glory if you allow him.”
A petition launched by Enrique Callwood on change.org for Governor Pruce to reconsider his deportation order for Ms Richards has received 367 verified signatures as of today, November 9, 2026.
See links to related articles
JTV reporter Cathy O. Richards ordered deported from VI
Petition launched for Governor to reconsider deportation order for Cathy O. Richards
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