~ Proposes real employers be given chance to step forward ~
PHILIPSBURG--Documents in support of some 1,610 applications for Brooks Tower Accord (BTA) residence permits were filed by ?bogus employers.? These fraudulent applications have been denied and the bogus employers will be prosecuted, Justice Minister Roland Duncan announced Wednesday.
The minister was reporting on the findings of the Inter-departmental BTA committee, which has just completed its review of nearly 2,600 applications and submitted its report and recommendations.
Duncan told reporters at the Council of Ministers Live Press Briefing Wednesday that the applications associated with the bogus employers could not be granted, under the current circumstances.
The Daily Herald understands that the bogus companies to which the minister referred are employment agencies that stood guarantee and filed for workers, most of whom are employed by real companies.
While the spectre of deportation now hangs over the 1,610 foreign workers whose applications have been rejected, Duncan is proposing that as ?a very last solution,? a period of two to three weeks be given to allow the genuine employers of these 1,610 persons to present themselves, so that these applicants may have a chance to have their status legalised.
Duncan said he would make the proposal to Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever, who is responsible for the granting of employment permits.
A total of 2,588 BTA dossiers were vetted by the interdepartmental committee. Some 447 applications had been handled prior to the start of criminal investigations into the BTA operations, earlier this year. This excludes the permits that were part of the review.
Duncan said 325 applications in Category One (immigrants in St. Maarten before December 31, 2001); 394 in Category Two (between 2002 and 2005) and 891 persons in Category Three (after December 2005) had been filed by bogus employers. Some fraudulent issues surrounded some of the 978 remaining applications and these will be passed to the Prosecutor?s Office for further handling.
This means that fewer than 978 applications have been found to be legitimate and will be granted, possibly by September 15. Announcements will be made when and where this will be done. The applications that were found to be legitimate include a total of 207 from Category One. Some applications were incomplete.
Bogus employers
The minister said that when the BTA dossiers were being reviewed, the committee had found that in some cases, so-called employers had filed for as many as 300 and 500 of the applicants. An applicant needed to show that he or she was gainfully employed to qualify for a BTA permit.
Duncan said it appeared as though the real employers of the applicants had refused or were not interested in filing for their employees, ?so they found persons [or-Ed.] companies willing to sign documents and give guarantees that they were employed.? Fewer than 10 bogus employers were discovered.
He said, ?Company X has 500 people working for them. When you go and look for company X, it is a small little office without any serious or existing operation and no real employees. Besides that, no taxes have been filed, no social security premiums have been paid, so the conclusion is very well and very quickly that it is a bogus situation. These people will not come into consideration for a permit.?
Duncan?s proposal is that should the real employers ?come forward? during a period to be proposed, they would not face any penalties or fines, but they will be required to settle their relevant taxes and social security obligations. The applications of those persons who cannot produce their real employers will be rejected.
The minister said once the period set has elapsed, ?there will be no more discussion and I can guarantee that action is going to be taken in terms of not just putting people off the island, but taking legal action against employers that we catch with illegal workers.?
He said employers who failed to step forward would face prosecution, if found with illegal employees. They will be dealt with legally or judiciously. ?We know who the bogus employers are and we are going to take action against them, because this is pure fraud that you?ve done.?
He said following the proposed period, government would resort to ?the good old days,? in which companies would be raided and guilty employers fined. Additional Immigration officers will be hired to ensure that this is done. ?We are going to either live by the law or we are going to be prosecuted by the law. In other words, we now know where the problem lies. We have the facts. We have the information,? Duncan said.
The cells in Simpson Bay that were constructed to house illegal immigrants pending deportation or repatriation are ready and should be delivered ?any day now? and everyone should ?understand that this is a serious matter.?
Employer organisations
He called on bodies representing businesses such as St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Indian Merchants Association, St. Maarten Chinese Association and the Bankers Association to call on their members to do the right thing.
?If you have members with illegals working, please step forward. ... We have found that people have tried ? whether it?s illegal or fraudulent or not. We also have people who have benefited from the BTA, because they charged [the applicants-Ed.] to be the bogus employers, but we know who the bogus employers are.?
And, referring to recent concerns about the BTA process voiced by the SHTA, the Justice Minister said: ?It?s very nice to say, ?Yes, these poor illegals ? these poor people ? should be given legal status,? but the employers here need to step up and live up to their legal duties by signing for the people.
?It?s totally incomprehensible, and from my ministry?s position, totally unacceptable that any employer (and that includes government) should have anybody employed illegally knowingly. ...
?SHTA knows of its members who have people who are illegal. Here?s your chance.?
Fines
Employers with undocumented workers face a fine of up to NAf. 100,000. Government is in the process of revamping the admissions and expulsion law so that fines for such infringements will be administrative fines. This means that issuing such a fine will no longer have to go through the court.
Once the new system goes into effect, civil servants charged with the task will be authorised to issue fines that will be immediately due and payable. Such a system is already being used by the Bureau of Telecommunications and the Central Bank.
Duncan said this would facilitate and speed up the fining of persons who break the law.
He made it clear that his recommendation to handle the 1,610 applications that are in the rejection category was just a proposal and, if it was not agreed to by the labour minister, it could not be introduced.
The BTA interdepartmental committee concluded its work and presented its findings on August 17. (Judy H. Fitzpatrick)
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