Shadow Home Affairs Minister Sylvan Richards has predicted that the Government will be compelled to grant Bermudian status to long-term residents.
He gave this opinion during a speech made in the House of Assembly on Friday evening citing Bermuda’s shrinking population and continuous exodus of people both local and expatriate. Further, he was of the opinion that the Government would court commercial immigration.
Premier David Burt disputed claims made by the opposition party that the issue of immigration was controversial, saying the people of Bermuda had lost faith in the previous administration when it tried to push through the “Pathways to Status” legislation the day after losing a by-election. He reiterated the need to have a bipartisan immigration reform process.
The Minister of National Security Wayne Caines assured the House that the government has a blueprint for dealing with immigration issues which will be shared with the House and the general public in due course. Mr Caines also said that his department was aggressively tackling a large backlog of work permit applications.
Walton Brown, who was recently removed as Minister of Home Affairs, also gave an update on the work being done on immigration reform which he said includes a proposal for the harmonisation of “mixed status” families.
