Robert Hart, Assistant News Editor
CLARE
THE JAMAICAN-BORN head of New York-based Caribbean Immigrant Services (CIS) is projecting a local economic windfall if United States President George W. Bush's proposals for tough immigration reform are implemented.
CIS Managing Director Irwine Clare told The Gleaner yesterday that an 'earned citizenship' proposal for undocumented immigrants to regularise their status would allow hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans to travel back home after years in hiding in the U.S.
"They will be able to come down (visit) and see investment opportunities and spend their money in the country," Mr. Clare said, pointing out that illegal immigrants face difficulties in travelling for fear of getting caught.
In an address from the Oval Office on Monday, President Bush said his 'earned citizenship' programme would allow illegal immigrants to admit to their status and remain in the country while seeking to be legalised. He also said a 'guest worker programme' would "match willing foreign workers with willing American employers for jobs Americans are not doing."
According to Mr. Clare, the path to citizenship would include a lengthy process and the payment of between US$2,000 and US$4,000 in fines.
Yesterday, Mr. Clare conservatively estimated that, of a projected 11 million illegal immigrants, there are at least 500,000 undocumented Jamaicans living in the U.S.
However, Senator Delano Franklyn, State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he was in no position to confirm any estimate of Jamaicans living in the U.S. illegally.
"To put any figure on it would be courting danger," Senator Franklyn told The Gleaner.
NATIONS SHOULD TAKE CARE
Although noting that each country has a right to ensure that those within its borders are there legally, the Junior Foreign Minister said nations should also be careful to ensure that immigration measures are not "inimical" to the movement of persons.
"The heart of creating a diaspora is the ability of people to move and live," Senator Franklyn said, noting that immigration laws now being proposed or implemented in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Canada will be on the agenda for discussion at the second diaspora conference scheduled for June 15 and 16.
"Based on what I have read, I'm disappointed that the Jamaican community has not been making their voices heard," Senator Franklyn said. He stressed that, despite appearances, the immigration debate is not focused solely on Mexicans crossing the U.S. border. "It doesn't single out any particular class, colour, race, or creed," he explained.
He noted that fines would be used to 'temper' the concerns of those who would rather have all illegal immigrants deported.
