Governor’s chief opens asylum training for immigration

| 05/04/2017 | 12 Comments

(CNS): Matthew Forbes, the head of the governor’s office, opened a two-week intensive training course on asylum and immigration, Monday, for 20 immigration officers, officials said in a release. The course was developed by UK Visas and Immigration, working in partnership with the local home affairs ministry to make it relevant to Cayman, said Acting Deputy Chief Officer Micheal Ebanks.

News of the training course on dealing with migrants who claim political asylum comes in the wake of a judicial review of an Immigration Appeals Tribunal decision to refuse asylum to a family from Mexico who fled that country after they were targeted and tortured by a local drug cartel led by the brother of the local police chief.

The judge upheld the IAT’s decision but raised concerns that the United Nations agency for refugees, the UNHCR, had declared the family were refugees and had written to Governor Helen Kilpatrick expressing concern that they had been refused asylum and asking the Cayman government to afford the necessary support to the family under the convention — a request, the court heard, that had been ignored by her office for more than a year.

The release said the training was intended to provide a clear understanding of the UN refugee conventions, the legal basis for asylum claims and a structured approach to assessing credibility, evidence and material facts. Forbes told the trainees that asylum applications should be dealt with quickly, fairly and professionally. He said that dealing effectively with migration and asylum is key to national security and that migration plays a significant role in Cayman’s development.

Deputy Governor Franz Manderson said the collaboration with the UK on this and other important areas was “vital to enhance the effectiveness of operations in the Cayman Islands”, as he pointed to the opportunity for immigration officials to gain further skills and knowledge in the area of asylum.

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Category: Immigration, Local News

Comments (12)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Wonderful news. Guess the UK is out to get us again by providing this training.

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    • Anonymous says:

      if these people is given asylum in these Cayman IS. we will be flooded with more and more coming, if Englamd wants to then they take them.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The training is a waste of time and money unless they take a test afterward.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    It will be difficult to reconcile our aspirations for UNHRC asylum adherence with current stance on Cuban refugees.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Is the Governor participating?

  5. Anonymous says:

    more delays at the airport

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Can someone train them on our laws too?

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Why is this high powered guy in Cayman? Britain is up to something.

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    • Diogenes says:

      Perhaps dealing with the concerns that the court raised that we had not dealt appropriately with the Mexican application?

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  8. Anonymous says:

    This country is too small to even consider accepting even one refugee.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Great news. A good asylum is very much in need here. Lets get that thing built and populated quickly!

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  10. Rod says:

    Now why didn’t we let them stay again????????

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