GROUP WELCOMES BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (ADOPTION) ACT 2016

Dear supporters - please see below our press statement regarding the recent changes to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 regarding adoptions. ------- The individuals behind the “We Support Pathways” Facebook group are pleased that the House of Assembly passed the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment (Adoption) Act 2016 last week. Furthermore, we are pleased that the Immigration Working Group and the House of Assembly endorsed our recommendation to lift the age threshold for adoptions from 12 to 18. That recommendation was contained in our detailed submissions released on 15 May 2016. We welcome the Immigration Working Group scheduling three public meetings next week to discuss the question of ‘mixed status families’. It is also encouraging that these meetings are to be held at three schools, which most in community would regard as neutral spaces for this sensitive issue. We did listen to the debate in the House of Assembly. We are concerned at MP Walton Brown’s comments that this next stage will not address the question of persons born in Bermuda or who arrived in Bermuda at a young age. Firstly, this issue is so tied up with the question of mixed status families, and it is arbitrary to separate them out. In many instances, we see mixed status families arising because persons in the same family were born or arrived in Bermuda on different dates and obtained different statuses. Second, there is a particular urgency to dealing with persons born in Bermuda or who arrived at a young age. Many of these persons are at or near adult age, and their future in Bermuda is in doubt. These are persons who have lived in Bermuda their entire lives and who know no other home through no fault of their own. Finally, we remind everyone (including the Government) that this timetable is at odds with the letter dated 17 March agreed to by the Premier and various leaders of the March demonstrations. The letter envisaged the following three-staged approach to reform: 1. Child and family pathways by 13 May; 2. 15 year pathway to PRC by the end of the summer; and 3. 20 year pathway to Status by November / December. We ask that the Immigration Working Group and the Government give urgent consideration to our recommendation reviving the provisions allowing persons who were born in Bermuda or who arrived in Bermuda before their 6th birthday to apply for Bermudian status upon turning 18. We feel that this is the single most reform which is needed; the remaining provisions of the ‘Pathways’ Bill are secondary and can be the subject of more detailed consultation going forward. We reiterate to the Ministry and the Working Group the importance of resolving this issue in short order. We will continue to monitor developments and hold all parties to account. ----------------- The “We Support Pathways” Facebook group is a collective of persons committed to addressing the inequities that exist in Bermuda’s immigration legislation. It is comprised of individuals who are Bermudian and non-Bermudian, young and old, of different races and ethnicities. Our Facebook group has 2,460 members, while our petition in support of “Pathways to Status” has 4,924 supporters. There is a core group of about 100 volunteers. While we supported the Government’s “Pathways to Status” legislation, we are not affiliated with any political party. Our primary concern has always been what we call the ‘humanitarian’ side of immigration reform; this is the need to give security to persons who were born in Bermuda, who arrived here at a young age or who live in mixed-status families.