(Barbados Nation) – A law which gives illegal aliens automatic citizenship of Barbados if they reside in the country continuously for ten years, will soon be amended.
That’s according to Prime Minister David Thompson as he disclosed to Weekend Nation plans for a major overhaul of the island’s immigration laws.
In a wide-ranging interview while in Florida, the Prime Minister said that despite criticisms from elsewhere in the region, his government was determined to push ahead with its reforms.
Thompson said Parliament would be asked to amend the law to clarify the status of undocumented immigrants to ensure people living here illegally for about ten years, weren’t automatically entitled to Barbadian citizenship.
He said the move was necessary because of a constitutional amendment approved back in the 1990s that gave illegal aliens automatic Barbadian citizenship if they resided in the country continuously for a decade.
But before any steps were taken, the Thompson administration, which is vowing to implement its immigration plan by next January, would publish an immigration Green Paper so the public could comment on the proposed policy which, according to a recent CADRES poll, was being widely supported by people across the island.
The Green Paper, which was completed about two weeks ago, is to be sent to Caricom leaders so they too can give Barbados their feedback.
“We have seen some concerns arising out of a constitutional amendment that was made about eight years ago that we need to tighten up slightly because it would entitle somebody who is ordinarily resident in Barbados for a specified time for citizenship,” the Prime Minister explained.
“We don’t think that would be appropriate in the circumstances. That is one major amendment that we are looking at. I believe there may be a need when the process of the green paper is concluded for an entire overhaul of our immigration legislation.
“We need to amend the legislation that deals with issues of Caribbean nationals who are entitled to move under the Caricom Treaty. Hopefully, the question of contingent rights by then would have been resolved and we can therefore expand the relationship we have with other Caribbean territories in that regard.”
In addition, the government intends to seek parliamentary approval for the creation of an immigration review panel “so as to deal with the backlog of immigrant status applications which are on appeal”.
Thompson, who joined hundreds of Barbadians from across North America at a Bajan celebration at Amelia Island Plantation resort just outside of Jacksonville in Florida during the Labour Day weekend, said he was pursuing a policy of full consultation and transparency with the “people of Barbados” and a key element of that strategy was the green paper.
