As the Immigration and Passport Bill presently sits in the hands of lawmakers for amendments in the committee stage, Sixth District Representative Hon. Myron Walwyn is lobbying his colleagues to make amendments to Section 10 of the Bill to give immediate residency to children born in the BVI to expatriate parents.
In an invited comment by our agency on the evening of Tuesday May 21st upon the adjournment of the House of Assembly sitting, Walwyn shared why the aforementioned section of the bill needs to be amended urgently.
Walwyn said, “We emulate the United States of America in many things, let us emulate them in this great thing they have done. If a child is born in the United States, they automatically become a citizen. At the very least, we here in the Virgin Islands should give those children born to expat parents immediate residency. I know that the issue of immigration is a convoluted one because the British Nationality Act also governs immigration issues in the Virgin Islands but the issuing of residency is something that is within the powers of the local government.”
He continued, “I want to encourage my colleagues and I have done so already in the House of Assembly. I know it may be a big step for some, but we must take that step because the Virgin Islands would be better off for it. We have the bill before us now. Let us give those children residency upon birth so that they can be free from immigration control and feel a greater sense of belonging to the Virgin Islands.”
In addressing the fact that there is still time to make this right, Walwyn who stated that he would be absent from Thursday’s resumption of the committee stage of this bill due to a previously scheduled travel appointment, said he is depending on his colleagues to have the courage to make this step which is an important element in bringing a divided Virgin Islands together.
Walwyn stressed that there is strength in unity and with the challenges that this country is currently facing we need unity among our people now more than ever before.