He stated in his letter which was copied to Wescot Williams dated March 6th that his office would not be accepting any requests for the document until he is ready. He advised the applicant to wait until he made public that the process for requesting applications for the declaration in question resumes.
The new labor policy clearly states that illegal immigrants who are gainfully employed and is requesting a working permit for the first time need to have the letter of intent from the governor. The letter of intent is a document where the governor of the island territory is actually acknowledging that he is aware that the immigrant person (applicant) is residing on St. Maarten illegally furthermore they should be granted a working permit since his office would also be granting the person a residency permit.
SMN News understands that at least one person already filed a court case against the Lt. Governor since he is hindering the full implementation of the labor policy which was perused by him before it was implemented two months ago. This media house also understands that questions are now being raised about the publication of the 2006 immigration policy which is being used in part by the governor's office. It is said that lawyers and other agencies that are processing immigration documents are forbidden to use this policy since it was never published. It is said that at least one law firm has intention of filing a second court case regarding the use of the policy which was mentioned by Wescot Williams and the Minister of Justice.
At the weekly press briefing commissioner of labor Wescot Williams said when asked about the 2006 immigration policy that was not fully implemented that she would be meeting with the Minister of Justice this week where she would further discuss his policy. She said that the reason she mentioned the policy is because illegal immigrants has the possibility of taking their case or situation to the office of the Lt. Governor who would in turn consider legalizing them by granting them a residency permit. Because of this the island leader and labor commissioner said that is why she felt the policy is partially being implemented. She said in the new labor policy it is clearly indicated that someone can get a declaration of intent from the governor's office. This she said was placed in the policy to eliminate the fact that the person (applicant) does not have to prove they were not on the island when they applied for a work permit. She said that the declaration intention pertains to ones residency and this possibility is based on the Minister's policy. Wescot Williams said in her planned meeting with the Minister she would be looking for clarity on the policy as well as the integration of the labor, immigration and education policies.
In the meantime the commissioner said the executive council approved the proposal of a Memorandum of Understanding and the formalization of the tripartite committee on labor. She said MOU that was proposed for approval resulted from the labor officials, the Chamber of Commerce, SHTA and the unions and herself as labor commissioner. She said the labor department gave several written clarifications on questions that were asked in the meeting of January 21. Wescot Williams said the MOU addressed some of the issues that were brought forward in the meeting as a matter of concern. She said one of the aspects that is modified is the mentioned is the housing requirement which is now more flexible. Also modified is the request for work permits renewals for the year 2009 and more flexibility was granted on the moratorium and the requests for director's license and the need for directors to apply for work permits. This she said was also addressed in the draft MOU.
Wescot Williams said she as labor commissioner also tabled some other points for discussions such as the age limit which is mentioned in the new policy. Wescot Williams said a policy has to be made concerning the employment agencies where they would address the fees rather than the processing fees for these permits. She said clarity has to be made on the licensing fee for these agencies and the processing fees of the work permits. She said she is hoping that these matters be discussed and be forwarded to the executive council for ratification. The commissioner made clear that the new revised labor policy which took effect on January 12 is the policy that is in effect. She said when the MOU is will be addendum to the policy and that which is regulated in the MOU will also be applied.
