CAYMAN PASSES LANDMARK IMMIGRATION LAW

CAYMAN PASSES LANDMARK IMMIGRATION LAW

By Staff Writer

The Cayman Islands Parliament on Friday passed historic legislation in what has been described as a major reset of the immigration laws.

Piloted by Hon. Minister for Caymanian Employment Michael Myles (Cayman Islands National Party - CINP member of the National Coalition For Caymanians - NCFC government), the law is a far-reaching overhaul of existing immigration legislation.

Among a raft of changes, it makes extensive adjustments especially to the work permit processes, introduces term limits for non-Caymanians employed in the civil service, and tightens up the awarding of Caymanian status to non-nationals, particularly regarding marriages.

Significantly, the law, which amends existing legislation and introduces several new components, is aimed at carving out a secure and defined space in the economy and workspace for Caymanians against persistent concerns that nationals are being sidelined in the job market. Concerns have also been expressed that even when Caymanians are successful in getting jobs, they face additional hurdles in progressing within their chosen fields.

These issues were exhaustively addressed during the election campaign this year (as in previous elections), and form the basis for the governing accord of the ruling National Coalition for Caymanians (NCFC) government and the renaming of the Ministry of Labour to the Ministry for Caymanian Employment under Hon. Minister Michael Myles.

Opening the debate, Mr Myles framed the historic changes to the immigration laws on which he had campaigned vigorously.

​“This bill is the first in a series of reforms to address the injustices and inefficiencies experienced by our people and guest workers, the strains on the government systems and budgets, the unnecessary hurdles and excessive timeframes that businesses face in our immigration system. This bill is our opportunity to protect workers in our country, to create and enforce employment opportunities for our people at all levels, to get a job, and to progress with priority. The bill is our opportunity to close the loopholes used far too long by bad employers or workers looking to game our systems.”

Min. Myles and other NCFC MPs repeatedly stressed that the objective was to rebalance the system, not to create divisions.

In what was to then set the pattern of the ensuing prolonged debate and committee hearing, the Parliamentary opposition, while agreeing on the need for reform, nonetheless cautioned about the pace and tone. The concern, as stated by Hon. Leader of the Opposition Joey Hew, was the risk of creating the very divisions that the government said it wanted to avoid.

“The official opposition has no objections to reforming immigration. All of us campaigned on it in one form or another, some in a more forceful Trumpesque language, others in a more measured and Conservative terms. Either way, we all agreed that updates to our laws were long overdue. The reality is that some in our community will breathe a sigh of relief and say that the changes are not as drastic as originally feared. Others, however, will say that the bill has not gone far enough. And then, of course, there is a growing number of small Caymanian businesses that are deeply worried about their future because of the cumulative impact of recent policy shifts from the minimum wage increases to higher fees to boost government revenues and the now fundamental changes to the immigration laws.”

Other aspects of the changes to the immigration laws include extending the eligibility period for Caymanian citizenship including through marriage. It also enforces severe restrictions on job-switching by work permit holders, as well as introduces an ID card system and annual reporting to Customs and Border Control as part of their conditions.

While there were no votes against the measures when the initial call was made by the Hon. Speaker Ezzard Miller to pass the law, a ‘division’ was requested by Hon. Opposition member for Bodden Town West, Chris Saunders. (A division is the parliamentary process in which each member’s vote is voiced and counted).

The outcome registered 15 votes in favour from the 19 elected MPs. The majority was led by the 11 members of the ruling National Coalition For Caymanians(NCFC) government, two members of the main opposition People’s Progressive Movement/Progressives(PPM) - Hon. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Kenneth Bryan and Hon. MP Roy McTaggart), along with independent opposition members Hon. MP for Bodden Town West, Chris Saunders and Hon. MP for Bodden Town East, Dwayne Seymour.

Absent from the chamber at the time the vote was taken were PPM/Progressives members Hon. Leader of the Opposition and PPM/Progressives leader, Joey Hew(George Town North), Hon. MP Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden(PPM - George Town West), Hon. MP Juliana O’Connor-Connolly(PPM - Cayman Brac East), and Roy Tatum(PPM - Red Bay).

[Caymanian Times newspaper will have further reporting on this landmark change to the immigration laws in a special feature in our next printed edition on Wednesday December 17th, and further editions in print and online].

CIG photo: Hon. Michael S. Myles, Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration