Topic: Department of Immigration
Multiple government officers convicted in largest-ever corruption case
The third and final instalment of Cayman’s largest-ever corruption trial ended Thursday when a jury delivered three guilty verdicts. The latest verdicts bring the...
Defence makes case in ongoing corruption trial
Attorneys for three women accused of defrauding the government through a scheme to pay to pass Immigration Department English-language tests mounted their defence in the Grand Court this week.
Woman takes stand in corruption trial
On day three of an ongoing corruption trial, the prosecution’s key witness took to the stand.
Wiping tears from her eyes, Elsy Liseth Diaz, 49,...
Immigration corruption trial starts in Grand Court
The trial of three women accused of conspiring to defraud the government began in the Grand Court on Wednesday.
Charges dismissed against immigration officer
Charges were dismissed Friday afternoon against Jeannie Lewis, the suspended immigration officer accused of permitting consumption of controlled drugs at her home and of knowingly assisting a person to remain unlawfully in the Cayman Islands.
Government departments close on Wednesday
A number of government departments and sections will be closed to the public on Wednesday morning as staff meet to prepare for mergers of Immigration, Customs and the National Workforce Development Agency.
Cuban on hunger strike sent to hospital
Three Cubans detained in George Town’s Immigration Detention Centre continued to refuse food Monday, bringing their hunger struck into its seventh day.
Cuban migrant vessel lands in Cayman Brac
Nine Cubans who landed in Cayman Brac on Saturday have chosen to stay in the Cayman Islands and will likely apply for asylum.
185 leave Cayman during amnesty period
The Department of Immigration announced on Friday that 185 people left Cayman in August, the month that the department was conducting an amnesty program for overstayers.
Final graduating class for Department of Immigration
The Department of Immigration graduated a class of nine new officers Friday, marking the final recruitment cohort before the department merges with Her Majesty’s Customs service in 2019.
12.5 years for ‘Bumbling drug dealers’
Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn sentenced former Department of Immigration staffers Stephen Wayne Hurlston and Oscar Lee Watler to 12.5 years’ imprisonment on Wednesday for possessing 1.61 pounds of cocaine with intent to supply in October 2015.
Another Cuban migrant released from detention center
Government has confirmed that one more Cuban migrant was released from the Immigration Detention Centre on Friday, bringing the total number of migrants on supervised release to six.
Immigration reviewing detention of Cuban migrants
The Department of Immigration is “reviewing alternatives” to keeping the 13 asylum-seeking Cuban migrants detained at the Immigration Detention Centre while their asylum applications are being processed, the department stated on Wednesday.
Government remains quiet as migrant hunger strike enters 10th day
Nine Cuban men detained at George Town’s Immigration Detention Centre entered their 10th day of hunger strike Tuesday – abstaining from food, water and bathing – without a visit thus far from government or a doctor, according to the migrant asylum seekers.
Non-Caymanian government employees up 25 percent
Foreign employees working on government contracts in Cayman have increased by nearly 25 percent in the past three years, according to Immigration Department records. At the end of 2014, there were 881 non-Caymanians working in the public sector, compared to 1,098 at the end of last year.
Business owner not guilty of theft from client
Paulette Anglin-Lewis was found not guilty of theft by a Grand Court jury on Wednesday, after trial that began last week. Ms. Anglin-Lewis, the sole director of Anglin-Lewis and Associates, had been charged with two counts of theft from a client of her immigration services business.
Immigration staffers guilty on multiple drug charges
Two Department of Immigration staffers were convicted Wednesday of possession of cocaine with intent to supply.
Seven arrested in immigration sweeps
The Department of Immigration’s Enforcement Division arrested seven people suspected of being in breach of immigration law as part of an operation that included 30 spot checks in the past two weeks
Staff Headquarters
Today's editorial cartoon
Speedy passports
Today's editorial cartoon.
EDITORIAL – Dilly-dallying and bureaucratic delays at Immigration
How long does it take to stamp a passport? Five seconds? Maybe 10 seconds, if you fumble the pages?
How about six months?
Plea for patience over airport lines
Immigration officials are asking for patience from passengers amid concern over long lines at Grand Cayman’s airport.
Immigration phone lines down
The Department of Immigration phone lines were temporarily out of order Wednesday morning. The department encouraged customers to contact 623-4810 instead until further notice.
EDITORIAL – Mandatory wage survey: Frankly, it’s none of their business
The phrase “mandatory survey” should send a chill down the spine of every entrepreneur in the Cayman Islands private sector.
EDITORIAL – Immigration consternation
A complete “rethink,” and likely revamp, of the entire immigration apparatus is in order — from management and staffing to policies and processes. “Musical chairs” at the board level is not nearly enough.
Cuba to Cayman: One migrant’s saga
All Yoel and the 38 other Cuban migrants can do is wait, passing the time by undertaking essentially volunteer work, engaging perhaps in the occasional protest, and allowing themselves to indulge in what they felt was forbidden in their “madre patria” of Cuba, that is, to hope.
EDITORIAL – Work permit backlog: ‘Help Wanted’ (needed) at Immigration
Lines are lengthening, applications are piling up, and tales of dysfunction are spilling out. Just another day at the Cayman Islands Department of Immigration.
Deadline for immigration survey ends today
A survey to gauge the level of service offered by the Department of Immigration ends at midnight, Friday, July 28. Participants who cannot or do not want to participate in the “Process Improvement Project” survey online can use a paper version.
Interns spending summer at Immigration
Sixteen young Caymanians, from various high schools and colleges in Cayman, are working this summer at the Department of Immigration. They were welcomed by Acting Chief Immigration Officer Bruce Smith.
EDITORIAL – The empty executive suite at Immigration
Premier Alden McLaughlin appears to be following through on his commitment to “sort out immigration,” and we applaud him for addressing it at the outset of his second term as premier of these islands. Our economic health depends on fixing this interminably broken system.
‘Invisible hand’ preventing PR progress, law firm alleges
An "invisible hand" appears to be blocking attempts to address years-long delays involving hundreds of applicants for permanent residence in the Cayman Islands, as the processing of the applications has again "stagnated," according to attorneys from a local law firm.
Asylum seeker detentions pose legal questions
An influx of asylum applications is putting pressure on the Cayman Islands Department of Immigration to address gaps in staff training and shorten migrant detention times.
Immigration officer charged in fatal wreck loses job
An immigration officer who pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and to leaving the scene of an accident without reasonable excuse has been fired. Mr. Tibbetts had been on required leave (paid suspension) since May 2015, following his arrest in the April 23, 2015 crash that killed bicyclist Donnie Ray Connor.
39 Cuban migrants repatriated to Havana
Thirty-nine Cuban migrants, 35 males and four females, were repatriated to Havana, Cuba, on Thursday. Officers from Customs, Prison and RCIPS assisted the Department of Immigration with the repatriation, the Department of Immigration said in a press release.
EDITORIAL – The ins and outs of government’s cash flow
Several recent news stories have suggested that government is shifting its tactics toward people who owe it money. Good. Not only are the receivables overdue, so is the need for policy change.
Unpaid PR fees reach over $4 million
Government is owed more than $4 million in unpaid permanent residency fees, some dating back seven years, according to data from a citizens’ freedom of information request.
EDITORIAL – Is our premier the ‘dummy’ or the ventriloquist?
Perhaps Premier Alden McLaughlin is willing to play the role of the “dummy” — but we, and we presume the Caymanian people, are not.
17 students intern with Immigration Department
Seventeen college and high school students traded in their summer break for some work experience with the government since July 4, providing them with practical work experience and training.
EDITORIAL – Privy Council speaks; Cayman better listen
“Mr. Oliveira’s application for should have been concluded within 12 months from being made. Mr. Oliveira’s claim should be remitted to the trial...
Six Cubans repatriated
The Cayman Islands Department of Immigration repatriated six Cuban migrants, three males and three females to Havana, Cuba, on Monday, according to a government statement.
EDITORIAL – The immigration report the premier doesn’t want you to read
The parts of Cayman’s permanent residence system have been arranged, rearranged and manipulated by officials like chess pieces on a chessboard.
EDITORIAL – Government’s contempt for PR applications
The immigration story that appears on the front page of today’s Cayman Compass is one of triumph and despair.
Government expects increase in work permits
The Cayman Islands Immigration Department is expecting an increase in temporary and full-time work permits for non-Caymanian employees over the next year, according to records for the upcoming 2016/17 budget.
Immigration: Work permits ‘mask’ gambling
Senior Cayman Islands Immigration officials confirmed Thursday that work permits had been granted that “masked” the illegal activities of some individuals employed in the Cayman Islands and indicated the department had investigated certain instances of that occurring.
Cuban migrants overflow detention center
Cayman Islands Immigration Department officials have a total of 116 Cuban migrants in custody at various locations, with a little less than half now being kept at various community centers on Grand Cayman.
More Cubans pass through Cayman Brac
The second boatload of Cuban migrants in the past week was spotted Friday in Cayman Brac and were allowed to continue with their journey.
‘PR in principle’
Anyone who has been here for four years should have some indication on where they stand relative to their long-term tenure within these beloved Cayman Islands.
12 Cuban migrants repatriated
A dozen Cuban migrants were repatriated from the Cayman Islands to Havana last week.
EDITORIAL – Absolute Zero: PR applications put in deep freeze
The Progressives government’s real immigration policy is to have zero immigration.
Political subversion alleged against ‘the Jordanian’
An outspoken Cayman Islands resident was accused in 2012 and again in 2014 of engaging in politically subversive activity by a lawmaker, according to government records obtained by the Cayman Compass.
5,000 work permit categories ‘must simplify’
A work permit processing system at the Cayman Islands Immigration Department that includes about 5,000 different job categories must be clarified, according to civil service managers who confirmed last week that even immigration employees are baffled by it.
Security concerns persist amid recent Cuban migrant influx
Cuban migrants arriving on Cayman’s shores in the highest numbers experienced in the past decade are creating a security headache for immigration enforcement officials.
Ganja found on towed Jamaican boat
Customs and immigration officers ganja on board a fishing vessel that had been towed into the George Town harbor on Tuesday.
Five Cubans repatriated
The Immigration department sent home five Cuban migrants Thursday, part of a wave of 135 people from Cuba who have landed on Cayman’s shores since the beginning of the year.
