Group Disappointed With ‘Lack Of Progress’
The ‘We Support Pathways’ Group said they are “disappointed with the Immigration Reform Working Group’s lack of progress with ‘mixed status’ families,” saying that “almost to the day, a year has passed since a mutually agreed deadline for delivering recommendations on children and family classes of immigration.”
The group said, “Work on ‘mixed status’ families started in early summer 2016 with various public meetings held between July 19, 2016 and November 3, 2016. During those meetings the Working Group expressed concerns over a lack of data regarding affected persons.
“We have tried to assist the Working Group by reaching out to our 2,500 members and 5,000 petition supporters. We conducted a survey and shared the results with the Working Group. We understand that other community groups have also assisted with sharing data.
“We are disappointed that no recommendations have been made and that it has taken the Working Group one year and hundreds of hours in deliberations to be at the same point.
“We are also dubious with pressing the Government for further data that it has been unable to provide, especially as there is no way to know of certain individuals who have never applied for status or PRC.
“As anyone who has worked in business or policy knows, there is no such thing as perfect information. You get as much data as you can, and then you exercise your best judgment in making recommendations.
“By continuing to do nothing to resolve the issue of ‘mixed status’ families and other cases of young people, Bermuda remains in breach of international human rights standards and norms.
“When a person lives in a country for a long time, puts roots down in the community, makes friends and has family in Bermuda – their right to respect for private and family life is engaged. When these people have no pathway to long-term security, their rights are infringed.
“In our submission to the Working Group, we recommended that there be a direct pathway to status for persons born in Bermuda or who arrived at a young age, and who lived here their entire lives.
“These people so are thoroughly assimilated into Bermuda’s cultural and social fabric, and they know no other home. This would address nearly all persons in “mixed status” families and other categories of persons deserving of protection.
“We once again implore and urge the Working Group and the Government to consider this vitally needed reform.”
They dont have 2500 memebers and most of their signatures were duplicates.
This can wait until after the election
Looks like your afraid to realize that they do have 2500 members. Oh wait you probably want “realistic” names. I suggest before you speak to research by looking at the list of people on their group page. Why would you suggest this wait until after an election. Looks like you want to deny a human right of someone that has lived in Bermuda forever their human right to be able to vote. Either way this needs to be resolved ASAP before or after an election. Waiting for an election to be called should not be the solution to stall for a resolution
Who cares about the data? What kind of a country says “let’s disenfranchise our citizens’ children, and let’s kick out people born here and who have spent their whole lives here, because of a lack of data”?
This is a simple question of fairness and justice. People who belong to Bermuda are being denied basic human rights because of dirty political motives. Bermuda has to fix this, or Bermuda has no soul.
Bermuda has always had a pathway to citizenship – marry the locals. We should grant citizenship to anyone willing to live here at this point – but we are governed by law.
“When a person lives in a country for a long time, puts roots down in the community, makes friends and has family in Bermuda – their right to respect for private and family life is engaged. When these people have no pathway to long-term security, their rights are infringed.”
I agree completely, but only if you lived in the country for that period legally.
No surprise here.
You can be disappointed all you want. The ubpOBA will not touch this before the election. Now go away
They need to hire the plp rent a mob and march.
Nothing but a bunch of Trumpers you lot are.
Must be so proud.
The high levels of ignorance in Bermuda is beyond believable I think all the smart folks left the island long time ago and the dumb remain to march b!%@h and moan every week and their goal is to have a jack tail government who gives them hand outs and feeds them crap negative devivsive control propaganda.
This should have been a no brainer – I’ve experienced first hand the pain that is caused because one child (through no fault of its own) is deemed ‘non Bermudian’ whilst the rest can enjoy the privileges of being classed as a Bermudian and its not just which line they go through when returning to the island. Those who protest against this have no heart and no soul.
I agree Cow Polly. In my opinion, all children born in Bermudian are Bermudian whether they have the stamp or not. If a person arrived early in life and went to school all the way through and is now working and has a family of their own they are Bermudian. There is no reason they should be denied the rights we all enjoy just for a slip of paper. It is the Government’s fault for allowing them to stay that long and establishing roots on our island. It is too late to go back in time and the only right thing to do at this point is to give them what they have been long overdue!