Topic: Immigration
Robbery getaway driver challenges deportation
A man who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the Chisholm’s Supermarket robbery in North Side three years ago is challenging an order that seeks his removal from the Cayman Islands.
85 Cubans held in Cayman
Eighty-five Cubans are currently being held in detention in the Cayman Islands, including 34 who landed in Cayman Brac over the Christmas holiday weekend.
Hit-and-run driver jailed
An immigration officer was sentenced to three-and-a-half months in prison Friday for a hit-and-run incident which caused the death of a 59-year-old cyclist.
Immigration officer jailed 3.5 months for hit-and-run killing
An immigration officer has been jailed for three-and-a-half months for a hit-and-run incident which caused the death of a 59-year-old cyclist.
EDITORIAL – A cruise visitor draws Cayman into geopolitical strife
“Turkish terror suspect arrested in Cayman” – the headline of Monday’s front page story is somewhat sensational. But what the situation calls for is a careful, measured and prudent approach: The key word going forward should be caution.
UK Coastguard reviewing Cayman’s search and rescue capabilities
Officers from the United Kingdom Coastguard arrived in the Cayman Islands this week to review the country’s search and rescue capabilities. The police came under fire earlier this year when three men and two boys, ages 9 and 11, went missing at sea and emergency searchers did not deploy until the next morning.
Premier claims release of ‘Ritch Report’ on immigration not in public interest
Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin, citing a never-before-used section of the Freedom of Information Law.
EDITORIAL – Permanent residence: Financial executive takes case to court
We cannot imagine the premier will be able to maintain his silence much longer on permanent residence applications. It will be the courts that will force him to obey the very laws that he and his government enacted.
Immigration officer, teen charged after police raid
A senior immigration officer and a teenager appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday morning, charged with various offenses in connection with an August police raid on the officer’s Savannah home.
EDITORIAL: One PR applicant speaks out – We should listen
The Progressives legislators themselves created this permanent residence quagmire when they passed the immigration law, setting out specific requirements for people to obtain PR, inviting them to apply – and then refusing to follow the very law they wrote, approved and enacted.
Stuck in PR limbo
While my issues and worries may not be of any material concern to the political administration or Cayman constituents, it is because of their legislative commitment in October 2013 that my family is now in a position of grave uncertainty with regards to our careers, our ability to earn a livelihood … and the education of our children.
EDITORIAL – Cayman deserves straight talk on permanent residence
We would hope Mr. McLaughlin would cease trying to reframe the government’s mounting problems with permanent residence applications as a “Compass vs. Government” matter. It is nothing of the sort. Permanent residence is an issue of great consequence to our entire country, and the Compass is simply pointing out the obvious: Our government must face it – and fix it.
Three-year immigration delay in residency case could cost government
The Cayman Islands government could be forced to pay damages following an immigration challenge filed by a local accountant who waited three years for his permanent residence application to be heard.
EDITORIAL – PR application delays: The consequences now loom larger
On today’s front page, in headline type so large that a legally blind patient taking an eye exam could read it, we share some extremely disconcerting news. It has to do with the risks the country is facing because of its inaction on more than 800 dormant permanent residence (PR) applications.
31 graduate from Civil Service College
Thirty-one government workers graduated from the Cayman Islands Civil Service College last week. Of the graduates, 22 earned honors or merits, achieving GPAs of 3.5 or 3.0 and above, respectively, according to a government press release.
EDITORIAL – The agony of hiring overseas
For our readers who may not have much experience with human resources, we’ll walk through the process required to hire one single employee and bring them to Cayman.
Deputy governor gives evidence in status scam trial
Franz Manderson, deputy governor of the Cayman Islands, gave evidence Tuesday in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who is accused of being involved in an immigration scam.
EDITORIAL – ‘Relentless’!
Although it is unlikely Premier McLaughlin intended for us to take it as a compliment, being labeled “relentless” is among the highest praise a newspaper could ever hope to receive. We’ve already got the T-shirts in production.
Witness says he gave money for status directly to Ebanks
A man who started working in Cayman in 1981 told a court Wednesday that he gave $1,500 to someone introduced to him as Paul Bodden for the purpose of obtaining status. Paul Williams was giving evidence in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who has pleaded not guilty to obtaining property by deception – falsely representing that cash was required as payment for a legitimate grant of Caymanian status.
Immigration scam witness claims she paid $32,000 for status grants
A woman who paid $32,000 for what she believed would be legitimate grants of Caymanian status told the court on Tuesday that she had a meeting with McKeeva Bush and his attorney. Norma Richards was giving evidence in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who has pleaded not guilty to obtaining a total of $167,400 from various complainants.
Recruiter says immigration status defendant ‘brainwashed us’
A woman who recruited people to pay $2,000 for status told the judge and jury on Tuesday that defendant Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks had “brainwashed” her and two other women into believing that everything about the scheme had to go through him because he was “their right-hand man.”
Trial begins for man accused of immigration scam
Trial began Wednesday for Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, charged with 27 counts of obtaining property by deception. The property was a total of $164,700. The deception was that sums of cash were required as payment for a legitimate grant of Caymanian status or permanent residency.
SteppingStones partners with Dinner Martin and Omni Cayman
SteppingStones Recruitment announced a strategic partnership with Dinner Martin Attorneys and Omni Cayman to provide enhanced immigration and payroll services. SteppingStones said it formed the alliance due to the ever-changing and complex nature of Cayman’s Immigration Law and to focus on its core recruitment business.
Illegal lander found in immigration officer’s home sentenced to 30 days
A man found in the home of a senior immigration officer was sentenced on Monday to 30 days imprisonment for illegal landing. Antonio Bullard, 30, pleaded guilty to landing in Cayman on or before Aug. 25, the day he was found at a Savannah residence with two other men and two women.
EDITORIAL – Permanent residence: A high price to pay for dawdle and delay
Our government’s deliberate inaction has put the country at great, and growing, risk of being taken to court, and losing – big time – with significant financial ramifications.
Lawyers: Immigration’s risk of human rights infringement growing ‘daily’
A myriad of legal difficulties arising in the determination of nearly 800 applications for permanent residence made by foreign nationals in the Cayman Islands has created a growing danger of human rights challenges against the government, a danger that is increasing on a “daily basis,” according to a review of the issues completed by a local law firm.
Immigration report on PR cost $312,000
The Cayman Islands government issued six checks totaling $312,470 for a consultant’s review of a 2015 Grand Court judgment that questioned the islands’ permanent residence approval and appeals process.
Court blocks immigration ruling to deport children
An immigration decision that would have led to the deportation of two Honduran children last month has been temporarily blocked pending a further review of the case by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal.
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.
Governors foresaw immigration troubles
Successive Cayman Islands governors foresaw the overseas territory’s current immigration difficulties as far back as the late 1980s and reported the potential for “serious social problems” if various perceived disparities were not addressed.
Bureaucracy stalls request for immigration report
The bureaucratic process associated with the Cayman Islands Freedom of Information Law will stall requests for the release of an immigration consultant’s report (also known as the “David Ritch report”) for at least several more weeks, the Cayman Compass has been informed.
Property perspective – Statistical review: Property prices are up, inventory is down
Regular readers of my monthly updates will know that we like to periodically take an overview of the statistics produced by CIREBA, the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association, the entity charged with overseeing Cayman’s real estate industry. These statistics, especially when viewed within a historical context, always make for interesting reading and point to current market trends.
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...
Where does the buck stop on education failures?
Comments from CaymanCompass.com readers
Privy Council: 19 months too long for citizenship application
The judicial committee of the U.K. Privy Council has overturned an earlier decision of an eastern Caribbean court, ruling that a 19-month delay in registering an application for citizenship was too long and was “likely to be unlawful” when considering the applicant’s human rights, according to the judgment issued Aug. 2.
McArdle: Europe’s migrants – Too many men
Cultures, particularly homogenous cultures, do need time to absorb and assimilate migrant flows.
EDITORIAL – Whither Cayman: Globalism or populism?
The world has never been more prosperous. And yet, dissatisfaction with economic and social inequalities in a fast-changing global economy are engendering increasing division and social disruption throughout the world.
Nearly 800 PR applicants await decision
An estimated 793 applications for permanent residence in the Cayman Islands have been filed under the revised Immigration Law that took effect on Oct. 26, 2013, including 182 applications that were filed this year.
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.
Paid leave continues for convicted immigration officer
A Cayman Islands immigration officer who pleaded guilty last week to causing death by careless driving will remain on paid leave with the department at least until his sentencing date.
Gay couple wins immigration appeal
The Immigration Appeals Tribunal ruled in favor of a same-sex couple, allowing law professor Leonardo Raznovich to be added to his spouse’s work permit as a dependent.
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.
Women at center of landmark immigration case granted PR
Two women who applied for permanent residence nearly a decade ago were granted that status last week in a case in which Cayman’s chief justice ruled a “miscarriage of justice” had occurred.
Lindsay: The right to be Caymanian, and losing it
Maintaining your status as a Caymanian means that you are at the top of the list under the Law for prospective employers to consider for job opportunities.
Independents ‘wrong’ on immigration issue, premier says
Banning grants of Caymanian status to long-term non-Caymanian workers who have no family ties to the Cayman Islands would be a “regressive” move that would hurt the local economy and the average Caymanian worker, Premier Alden McLaughlin said last week.
Miller, McLean: No PR for Cayman’s ‘economic migrants’
Two independent opposition MLAs said they oppose granting permanent resident status to long-term Cayman Islands workers who do not have direct family connections to the islands, in comments made during budget debates over the past week.
EDITORIAL – Return to sender: Cayman’s policy on Cuban migrants
The photograph of the Cuban boat on the front page of Tuesday’s newspaper is an image of a dream deferred.
Immigration: Cuban boat in South Sound will be moved
An abandoned Cuban boat that has been beached in South Sound since May 6 will be removed within a few days, Cayman Islands Immigration Department officials said Monday.
Four arrested for smuggling, illegal landing
Police arrested two Cubans and two men from Cayman in East End on Thursday evening after receiving a report of a “suspicious vessel” making its way to shore.
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.
Boatload of Cubans lands in Brac
Some 21 Cubans landed in Cayman Brac on Sunday and were taken into custody by authorities prior to their pending transfer to Grand Cayman.
Immigration officer not guilty of pepper spray charge
An immigration officer was found not guilty on Monday after a four-day trial on a charge of aiding and abetting the possession of a prohibited weapon.
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.
PR applicant misses deadline by one day
A permanent residence-seeker had his application to stay in the Cayman Islands for the rest of his life rejected because he missed the filling deadline by a single day, according to claims made in the Grand Court last month.
Cubans out of community centers, immigration officials confirm
An acute overcrowding situation involving dozens of Cuban migrants who were forced to temporarily live in various community centers on Grand Cayman has subsided, at least for the time being, Immigration Department officials confirmed Wednesday.
EDITORIAL – Ezzard versus ‘The Jordanian’ (and free speech)
When anybody defends their right to express their opinions, we take notice, listen carefully and almost always support them.
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.
EDITORIAL – What Bermuda’s immigration debate means for Cayman
The Bermuda government’s announced intention to pursue dramatic immigration reforms has plunged our North Atlantic cousin into a state of unrest — somewhere between existential conversation and outright crisis.
Women remanded for immigration scam
Two women are scheduled to be sentenced on March 8 for their roles in an immigration scam that led people to hand over $2,500 each in the belief that they would be granted permanent residence.
Public agency job applicants asked nationality, birthplace
A number of Cayman Islands government agencies have used employment application forms in 2015 and 2016 that ask job-seekers to distinguish between their nationality “at birth” and their current nationality, or to provide their “place of birth” on the form.
Data: Work permits up, unemployment down
A decade’s worth of data from the Immigration Department and the government statistics office examined by the Cayman Compass shows a clear link between the number of foreign workers on the islands and the unemployment rate.
EDITORIAL – Cayman must move on its 650 stagnant PR applications
With none of the 650 permanent residence applications submitted since October 2013 having been dealth with, the lives of these long-term residents remain in abeyance, hostage to a system which, demonstrably, has failed them – and is failing our country.
