Philipsburg:--- Senator George Pantophlet said he has receiving a number of phone calls from persons who are concerned about the upcoming immigration controls that is to take place soon. The senator said he wants to re-emphasize that these immigration controls will not only affect persons who are undocumented but it will affect many of us for example; businesses such as Hotels, Supermarkets, Taxi's, Buses, landlord just to name a few but they (controls) must take place.
The senator said for the sake of clarity persons who have requested residence permit under the Brook Tower Agreement and have not received an answer as yet will not be affected. However you should make sure they walk with their proof of application.
What needs to be explained again is that the Brook Towers Agreement was instituted to allow persons living here who comply with the two categories I and II. Category III persons who came to the island from January 2006 were told that they had to leave. Their employer can request a working/residence permit and if this is approved they will be issued a landing permit to return the island. If they are deported, it will be 3 years before they are allowed to return to the island. Let me remind you also that persons in possession of the BT their Employer should apply for their working permit/residence permit through the regular process. The approved BT permit is to give persons until November 3, 2010 to regulate their status without the fear of being deported. On the matter of controls, the person who will be executing the control should have a good knowledge of the immigration documents. They must have a good knowledge of not only what the BT application and residence looks like but also know and understand that persons who have a proof of application from the labor office are also allowed to be on the island while this process is ongoing. Also understood must be the fact that persons who have appealed a decision of the Executive council/ Lt. Governor are also allowed to be on the island while their appeal is still being handled providing that it is not a first time request. What must also be understood by the controllers is that it is possible to have a working permit while the residence permit is still being processed. The synchronization of these is still being worked on. Finally I personally would have preferred that at least some kind of training or a refresher be given to the ones responsible for controlling undocumented persons. I was already told of some cases where persons with proof of application were held and the office had to be called in order to verify the authenticity of the document. This can be time confusing and embarrassing for the person/persons in question. It is not easy but controls must be done.
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