Two more boats bring Cubans to Cayman Brac
(CNS): Another fifteen Cuban migrants entered Cayman waters last week in two separate boats, according to the Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control Service (CBC). Eight men arrived in an undisclosed area of the Brac at around 2:15pm on Thursday and another five men and two women arrived in the North East Bay area of Cayman Brac Friday around 7:15am. The two groups were reportedly processed in accordance with CBC’s established protocols.
The two groups followed the arrival of a dozen migrants on Wednesday last week, so the CBC is now responsible for more than 200 migrants. No official figures on the exact numbers of migrants currently being detained or those who are in the community awaiting asylum decisions have been released for some time.
The estimated number is based on the accumulation of arrivals, minus the groups that have since left illegally. There has been no indication from CBC that any migrants awaiting deportation as a result of not making asylum claims or those whose claims have been denied have been repatriated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Category: Local News
As a property/home owner on Brac, this issue needs to be nipped in the bud and let it be known that illegal aliens will be dealt with swiftly. There is a proper process for asylum and unless deportation of illegals is immediate the flood gates will open. Just look to the U.S. to see how unchecked illegal immigration can threaten a country.
CNS: By international law, the Cuban migrants are entitled to apply for asylum and the process must then take its course. Not letting them land, which in most cases would result in death, is not only morally repugnant but is also breaking international maritime law. It’s not like a land border.
If they don’t apply for asylum or if it is refused, the Cubans are repatriated in accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed by the UK government (which is responsible for Cayman’s international relations) and the Cuban government. Any delay in the repatriation of the migrants is due to the Cuban government, which is in no hurry to get them back. Obviously, the quicker they are sent back the better for the CIG, but it has to adhere to laws and treaties. We don’t have the clout of the USA and it is not an equivalent situation.
Cuban migrants have been arriving here for at least 50 years and “the floodgates” have opened several times, so advising the CIG to “nip it in the bud” is meaningless historically, practically and legally.
Asylum in Cayman is not high on their list of priorities but you have made it their only option. Take Cuba out of the picture. Make a deal with Honduras or one of the others to take a hundred a year and fly them out. They are mostly ready to go. Your asylum problem would be reduced to a handful. The “nothing can be done” attitude is stopping progress. It doesn’t have to be this way.
CNS: You’re right that they don’t really want asylum here but it’s their only option once they get stuck here. “Making a deal with Honduras” is sheer fantasy. Firstly, why would Honduras take them unless we paid them to do so? And why would we do that? That’s not a solution. Also, the Cubans’ ultimate destiny is the USA and everyone knowns that. It would therefore be silly politics for Honduras and Cayman (and by extension the UK which would not allow it anyway) to facilitate their journey and annoy the US.
“There must be a simple solution to this multi-decades-old problem that I can pull out of my butt without thinking too hard” is the position of the clueless.
Why is it not government policy that our Coast Guard tow these boats and all souls on board right back to Cuba? It is ridiculous how much money CIG wastes on this issue. A hardline needs to be taken to secure the damn border, especially with that bleeding heart Tribunal granting refugee protection status (which is basically as good as Caymanian Status) to every Cuban that arrives here without permission. Enough is enough!
Why it is taking years to repatriate them? Money being spent on them should be spent on our own who are in need. And when I say in need, I mean poor people not baby machines.
What is government doing to hasten their return. Did Belize open arms to them?
“Undisclosed area of the Brac” is really a fancier way of saying “an incomplete landing report was filed by those officials entrusted to make such reports”.
Cubans Jamaicans we ruined
It would be cheaper to buy them new boats and send them on their way.
😂 I hate to admit it, but you might be on to something.
No, it wouldn’t, because this would be facilitating undocumented migration, and suddenly, instead of having a few dozen to “send on their way”, you’ll have thousands monthly looking to use as a spring board with a free boat.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve given supplies myself.
Only one way to find out. They have to get here first, and its not that easy.
CNS: Between 1993 and 1995 over 2,000 Cubans passed through the Cayman Islands, most of them landing first on Cayman Brac. Over 1,000 were kept in temporary housing on Grand Cayman for over a year in what was known as Tent City. It was a massive headache for the CIG and, if my memory serves me well, cost over $1 million. There was another huge influx in 2004/5. It may not be easy but they find a way. However, it’s only 90 miles between C/Brac and the closest point of Cuba. The vessels they manage to get here in are generally not in good enough shape to get any further. If these islands were known to Cubans as an easy route to somewhere else, we would likely be inundated.
_||) is absolutely correct.
Best comment I read in all post