DOUBT OVER POLICY

GOVERNMENT'S NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY on illegal Caribbean immigrants has come in for some tongue-lashing.

Opposition Leader Mia Mottley said yesterday Prime Minister David Thompson needed to clarify the new measures since they "gave the distinct impression that the Barbados Government was only concerned with the illegal immigrants in Barbados from Caribbean countries . . .".

Speaking at a Press conference, Mottley queried whether there was a similar policy for illegal immigrants who were from outside of the region, particularly North America and Europe.

In a Ministerial Statement from the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Thompson announced that thousands of CARICOM nationals who were illegally in the island, should turn themselves into immigration authorities or face deportation from December 1.

Mottley said the new immigration policy could have a backlash for Barbados, and expressed concern about non-nationals who had worked, or lived in Barbados for 11 years or less, but could not have their status regularised because of shortcomings of the Immigration Department.

"Whatever is done to deal with this issue must be done in a humane and transparent manner and one that does not breach the text or the spirit of our Constitution, the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, or indeed the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society," she said.

"The danger lies in the message that is communicated which can easily be distorted from what is the intention of the Government to legitimately control the number of illegal immigrants.

"The Immigration Department's capacity must also be at the centre of this discussion since persons legitimately waiting for extensions or renewals should not be disadvantaged," she said.

Leader of the People's Empowerment Party David Comissiong, described the new policy as harsh and said it would "traumatise and dislocate many men, women and children, including children who are citizens of Barbados by birth, who have established deep and stable roots in Barbados and who are making constructive contributions to Barbadian society".

There was also mixed reaction from Barbadians across the island and further afield.

Locally, some Barbadians said they didn't think it was right, while others said they agreed wholeheartedly.

On our online edition NATIONNEWS.com, one reader, Bajan Resident In The USA, said:

"I was wondering whether something is missing from the story or is it correct that the only undocumented residents in Barbados are from the Caribbean. Immigration policies must be seen as fairly distributed."

However, another reader, Harriet of Brooklyn, United States, expressed full support of the measure, saying:

"It is long past due that the Government of Barbados do something about the thousands of Caribbean non-nationals living in Barbados illegally. I fully support Prime Minister David Thompson on this move. Barbados is a very small island and does not have the resources or land space for such practice to continue without some type of regulation."

Meanwhile, Norman Faria, honorary consul for Guyana in Barbados, has appealed to Guyanese nationals to deal only with Government offices or their consulate in relation to any immigration matters.

Faria expressed fear that a number of so-called immigration consultants might want to take advantage of those who might be trying to get their status regularised given the December 1 deadline announced by the prime minister.

"I am confident that my people will do the proper and right thing in the present situation and will continue to respect the regulations as the majority of them have been doing," he said. (TS/TM)