The Cayman Islands Immigration Detention Centre has been shuttered for some time because the building formerly used to house illegally landed migrants is “uninhabitable”, according to the Cayman Islands Prisons Inspection Board.
Since it is unable to use the detention centre building, the Immigration Department has set up temporary trailers on the detention centre site in George Town to house an influx of Cuban boat migrants who arrived in the Cayman Islands in October and November of last year.
“The Immigration Detention Centre … was overgrown with garbage and generally in deplorable conditions,” a recent prison board report noted. “The sewerage system is linked to the Fairbanks female prison as the building cannot obtain a CO [certificate of occupancy] from the planning department.”
The trailers – which were the same ones used as temporary housing in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 – were at one time packed with 36 Cuban migrants.
That was in late 2011. Since then, one group of migrants has been repatriated, two others escaped the facility and 15 Cubans remain at the trailer park awaiting their return to Cuba.
Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans said the detention centre being out of commission hasn’t been much of an issue since late 2008, because the economic situation had improved in Cuba and Cayman was no longer seeing many migrants on makeshift boats attempting to get to the United States via Central America.
However, with the arrival of two migrant boats in Cayman Brac last year – one in October and one in November – Ms Evans said conditions at the centre became more prevalent.
“We haven’t had the funding [to repair the centre] and we’re certainly not going to be able to do anything about it over the next budget year,” Ms Evans said. “We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had too many Cubans arrive here.”
However, it appears the department’s luck has run out.
Ms Evans said late last year that, based on the intelligence her department has gathered from arriving migrants, Cayman can expect to see a lot more makeshift Cuban vessels entering its waters.
“[The migrants] mention that because of the financial problems [in Cuba], there’s not as much patrolling along the coasts as there used to be,” Ms Evans said. “We think we’re going to experience a lot more boats.”
According to records compiled by the Miami Herald, US-based interdictions of illegal Cuban migrants doubled between 2010 and 2011. The situation was blamed largely on Cuba’s stalled economy.
Generally, Cuban migrants are not thought to be dangerous, but Caymanian authorities have no way of checking the backgrounds of all who arrive.
They are not considered or handled in the same way as police prisoners.
According to Cayman’s memorandum of understanding with the Cuban government, migrants who land illegally in the Cayman Islands are repatriated to their homeland. Until they are sent home, Cayman’s Immigration Department is responsible for the undocumented migrants’ feeding and housing.
If a Cuban boat is found in Cayman Islands waters it is usually allowed to continue on its journey. However, if the passengers run into trouble and have to come ashore they are taken into custody.
The Immigration Department’s policy on Cuban migrants typically defines individuals in such a case as “economic migrants” – not political asylum seekers. If the department is convinced the migrants will not face torture or retribution upon returning home, they will usually allow them to be repatriated.
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What about the missing migrants? Have they been found yet?
Couldn’t the Cuban migrants, who, hopefully, would like to be housed in good conditions, be asked to help repair their own accommodations. After all, we do have to feed them. Probably among those migrants are carpenters and plumbers, etc. Just a thought!
Ms Evan should be a shame that the government find it hard to repair the Detention facility so that any human bring can be held my the Cayman’s government for Immigration propose.
Those people should be protected by international law and not by the inhuman and whim of the Cayman Government.
Cayman Islands shame on you!,,,where is the active Chief justice on this? Oh no the CJ is sleeping while injustice going on,perhaps its has nothing to do with getting out a judge…
@ Chef – They all should be blamed. But I think more blame should be on those who make the laws and run this country from the very top – Linda is not on the very top.
@ Marilee Parsons – As well, I think we should receive funding from overseas in order to help the Cubans. There are many Cubans in Florida, USA, who are eager to send money down and help their own people.
@ TruthFinder – I just hope they find themselves in the United States, because for sure, our government will send them back to Cuba, and God knows what will happen to them there.