PHILIPSBURG--The Netherlands Antilles needs help for immigration controls scheduled to start on Monday, March 1. Antillean Justice Minister Magali Jacoba hopes to talk with Dutch Kingdom Affairs State Secretary Ank Bijleveld-Schouten today, Thursday, about support from the Dutch government in repatriating several hundred undocumented residents.
Controls start in March with or without extra help for the Antilles, Jacoba told The Daily Herald. "The last time, in December, [Bijleveld-Schouten] said she would be willing to help," she said.
The governments of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are meeting in Curaçao today and tomorrow for Kingdom Political Steering Group meetings that foreshadow the end of the Antilles. Justice will be among the topics discussed.
Minister Jacoba promised in October that there would be massive immigration controls after the six-week Brooks Tower Accord project ended. She warned that authorities would repatriate anyone without papers to live here.
The Brooks Tower Accord ran from November 3 to December 15. More than 4,000 persons in St. Maarten registered for Brooks Tower in the six weeks. The Central Government is granting each successful applicant a one-year residence permit that expires in November, during which time they are expected to apply to become legal residents.
Authorities expect them to apply for extension through the normal channels or risk becoming undocumented again.
Tourism lobby group St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) urged members this week to ensure that their workers were documented or risk large fines for breaking the law.
BTA steering committees plan to evaluate special cases that don't fit any of the accord's three rigid categories. They will stop reviewing applications on February 28.
Jacoba met with advisors and police officers Monday about executing controls, but said, "We didn't make any decisions on it as yet."
"Time is running out," Jacoba said, "but we will be controlling from March 1."
