News

The Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control (CBC) Service confirms that an operation was carried out in the early hours on 30 April, at the Bodden Town Civic Center (BTCC) to locate two (2) migrants who escaped lawful detention from the CBC Detention Center (CBC DC) and were found to be at the BTCC. The two migrants were arrested and are scheduled to appear in court for escaping lawful custody. This operation was deemed to be the catalyst for the demonstration whereby approximately 20 migrants gathered in protest on the steps of the Government Administration Building on Tuesday, 30 April.

The situation was viewed as a security risk for persons entering and exiting the Government Administration Building and as such the migrants were warned to vacate from the front of the building.

In line with our Constitutional obligations and in accordance with the International Convention on the Treatment of Refugees, CBC provides irregular migrants with accommodations, meals/food vouchers, personal toiletries, and they receive medical attention and medications as and when deemed necessary by the Health Services Authority (HSA). The other migrants that are housed at the Bodden Town Civic Center are on temporary admission pending the determination of their applications for political asylum. They are not currently detained.

CBC can confirm that the majority of migrants that remain on island arrived prior to the legislative reforms which were introduced in December 2022. Those asylum cases are progressing through the Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal process, with in a limited number of cases progressing to Judicial Review applications before the Grand Court, hence the delay in concluding the appeal cases.

CBC has further confirmed that the majority of migrants arriving in Cayman thus far have been assessed as economic migrants which means that they do not qualify for political asylum in the Cayman Islands. In such cases the legislative reforms which were introduced in 2022 allows the Director of CBC to certify such applications as wholly unfounded. The repatriation process takes place within a couple of months of that determination.

In the case of Cuban migrants, the repatriation process is conducted in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Cayman Islands and the Government of the Republic of Cuba.