The Cayman Islands top immigration official said last week that a Human Rights Committee review of how his department handles Cuban migrants was ‘very fair.’
However, Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson isn’t certain all recommendations made in the report can legally be implemented.
For instance, the HRC review suggests immigration officers be allowed to force Cuban migrants into custody if they are spotted within 12 miles of Cayman’s shores in vessels that are not seaworthy.
‘We simply couldn’t, in my mind, (detain Cubans) because we thought their vessels were leaky,’ Mr. Manderson said. ‘We have to be empowered by law to do that. I am not certain the Immigration Department has any authority…to forcibly remove someone from a vessel if they’re not sinking.’
The committee noted that concern would be eased if the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue was extended to Cayman. The HRC urged both Caymanian and UK officials to establish a resolution in international law for this issue.
The report stated a policy of detaining Cuban migrants more aggressively and repatriating them would, in time, lower the number of migrants who come to Cayman. Mr. Manderson agreed, though he said such a policy would keep immigration officers extremely busy in the short term.
‘It would obviously cause a great strain on us,’ he said.
In fact, Mr. Manderson said a policy adopted in 2005 by the government had likely already lowered the number of Cubans who end up on Cayman’s shores.
According to that policy, Caymanian authorities are forbidden from offering food, water, gas, boat repairs or any other assistance to Cuban migrants. Immigration officials have urged the public to do the same, but those requests are often disregarded.
‘I was certainly happy to see…in the conclusion that they stated (assisting) Cuban migrants in any onward journey is not a viable option for the Cayman Islands,’ he said.
Mr. Manderson was also pleased with some areas of the HRC review which he said dispelled fictions about immigration officials’ interaction with Cuban migrants.
‘They were satisfied that we were treating the Cubans at the Immigration Detention Centre fairly and appropriately,’ he said.
Mr. Manderson also pointed out that HRC committee members were given full access to the centre and discovered during their review that migrants being kept there could have visitors.
‘The whole idea of it being some kind of secret facility was a fiction.’
The HRC did find that an independent professional committee has responsibility for inspecting centre facilities and reporting their status. But it said the names of that professional committee are not publicly available.
‘(The HRC) does not see any reason why the official oversight of this facility could not be more open and transparent,’ the report stated.
However, Mr. Manderson said the prison review board is responsible for inspections of the detention centre and that its membership is a matter of public record.
Refugee status
One section of the report Mr. Manderson disagreed with stated that Cayman may not be following the spirit of the Geneva Convention on refugees.
He said the report made it clear that Cayman was not actually violating any local or international laws in determining whether Cuban migrants should be granted political asylum.
But the HRC review stated that policies used to decide whether someone is a political refugee or simply an economic migrant stack the odds against identifying those with genuine claims for asylum.
The committee was concerned the initial decision about that is currently made by Mr. Manderson, who is appointed by Cayman’s governor.
‘Everyone is entitled to a fair hearing in respect of any determination of their rights,’ the HRC report stated. ‘If the Chief Immigration Officer is acting in a capacity where rights are determined….then a concern could indeed arise.’
The HRC suggests an independent statutory board or an independent adjudicator’s office should be established to deal with asylum applications.
‘I don’t agree with that at all,’ Mr. Manderson said. ‘I think it would be a step backward if we were to place (decisions about) asylum in the hands of a board.’
‘I have a vested interest to see that the law is applied fairly and that we not return anyone to a country where they would be persecuted.’
There is an existing appeals tribunal to which those who are denied refugee status may appeal their cases. The Cayman Islands government does not provide legal representation for those appeals if the migrants can’t afford an attorney.
Mr. Manderson said the appeals board operates independently of the Immigration Department.
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