13 year over-stayer takes advantage of amnesty
(CNS): Eleven adults and three children have taken advantage of this month’s amnesty to leave the islands without fear of prosecution for immigration offences, according to the Department of Immigration (DOI). One of the group that used the free pass to leave without legal consequences had been in Cayman illegally for more than 13 years, officials revealed. Ten of those who left were from Jamaica, while the other four were from Honduras, India, South Africa and the United States and included both men and women.
The amnesty, which ran for the whole of this month, ends at 3:00pm on Friday. Under the terms of the amnesty, foreign nationals can leave Cayman and will not be prosecuted, even if they have been residing illegally here without a valid work permit or any other lawful permission to remain in the Islands.
Employers have also been given the chance to cancel permits for employees for whom they have no work without penalty, and employees on a valid work permit whose employers no longer have full-time employment for them were also able to cancel the permit and leave no questions asked. Also, workers who are not working for the employer named on their work permit have been given the chance to depart voluntarily.
Workers who have reached the end of their term limit but who have not left the Cayman Islands and people visiting the islands who have not sought a visitor’s extension to remain beyond the time authorised upon arrival are also included in the amnesty, officials explained in a summary of the initiative.
For those not leaving voluntarily, however, DOI enforcement officers have continued with their targeted operations and yesterday arrested a foreign national for overstaying for twelve years. Officials said that illegal residents who do not immediately surrender to enforcement officers during operations will be liable for arrest and prosecution. After the amnesty concludes, the DOI will actively pursue those who have not taken advantage of the amnesty.
The maximum penalty for overstaying is a fine of CI$20,000 and imprisonment of up to five years. Penalties for work permit offences range from fines between CI$5,000 and imprisonment for one year for a first offence, to CI$10,000 and imprisonment for two years for a second or subsequent offence. Administrative penalties for work permit breaches can vary by occupation and may be as high as CI$187,500 for a single breach in some instances.
Anyone with information about immigration-related offences is urged to contact the confidential information hotline at 1-800-Legalim (1-800-534-2546), or email legalim@gov.ky.
Category: Crime, Immigration
I think that if the Immigration Department provide us with the names and photos of the persons who are here illegally according to their records that the public would be able to assist. Just put them on their website.
Immigration don’t know who is here illegal.
Build the wall
If we build the wall, who will pay for it Jamaica or Cuba or Cayman Brac , Cayman can’t .
Get a hair cut.
What about the employers who employed these illegals – sounds like they get away with it.
hence “amnesty”
No, amnesty is only for persons who turn themselves in. No employer has.
What measures are put in place to prevent them from reentering in a year doing the same thing again?
Logic would dictate that if they took advantage of the amnesty they would not want to reenter considering they finally get to leave without penalty. By your question you could infer that if someone took advantage of a gun amnesty they would want to get another gun in a year.
That makes absolutely NO sense. You cannot compare a GUN with living and working somewhere illegally.
LMAO
I think they might be able to reenter if they do it right this time, by going through the proper procedures, that is as long as Immigration has no record of their illegal stay previously (which they should – even if they were not prosecuted) because there might be a probability or a possibility that having done it before, they would do it again. So to answer the question of what measures …Immigration should have their names and pictures or fingerprints on red flags, and maybe discourage reentry for another 20 years!:-)
None, this is juts a reality in every thriving country.
That is the least of the problems what about all the white people that take over the country and you guys cannot move them worrying about the little Jamaican here
11000 Jamaicans is little ? And 100s more arrive illegally on boats.
Drop in the ocean! There’s probably hundreds of others out there too!
If you know that there are hundreds more out there then it behoves you to go report it.
Yawn. Been there. Done that. They do nothing except give them places in government schools for free, free healthcare, and scholarships. They seem to refuse to investigate or take action against relatives of anyone on the voters list.
i smell a rat! immigration better look deeper….someone may have had vonnections in order to stay illegally over a decade without detection????
How the hell do people overstay for over a decade?
Without immigration officials noticing
Surely immigration should be tasked with ensuring that upon the termination or expiration of a work permit, the person actually leaves the island?
How hard would it be to swing by the work place a week or two after the expiration to ensure that the person isn’t still working there?
How hard could it be to compile a list of expired or expiring work permits and then inquiring as to whether the persons are still on island?
Who are the persons employing these overstayers and should they not be facing charges or fines as well? Unless these people are overstaying and living on the streets or out in the bush of Northside
Why was the private sector keeping him here giving him jobs. If only the private sector would stop making work for the government then complaining about the size of the civil service.
Look Ya … leave North Side out ta this…. we have enough people in the bush as it is. Gat to have a sense of humour .lol
Exactly!, why aren’t these people who hire overstayers arrested and taken to court. If that provision is not in the immigration law then it should be.
It is. They just don’t enforce it.
Well sir, contribute in protecting our borders with the monies, technologies, and man-power needed … stop giving your funds away to police service everytime they quack!
The Borders !
Simple. They fall thru the cracks. Employers make them pay for their work permits and do not report them when they have no more work for them. Work permits holders are not vetted, go by pet name and immigration do not follow up on where they live. No red flag when permit expires. Do not leave the island and work from job to job. Little enforcement on job sites and some emplyers take advantage and make them work for less. Need more as to why ???? No proper keeping track system. Many many out there working hotels, restaurants. hotels etc.