(CMR) Four people were arrested for immigration-related offenses on Wednesday, 23 November at the West Bay Road Public Beach during an enforcement operation conducted by the Compliance Unit of Workforce Opportunities & Residency Cayman (WORC), the Department of Commerce & Investment (DCI) and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS).
Three of those detained were arrested for working without work permits, and one was handed over to Customs & Border Control (CBC) for overstaying.
The search was based on information received by the Department of Tourism and other government agencies regarding potentially illegal practices at the location. Following the arrests, corresponding investigations are active, with lines of inquiry and questioning of suspects ongoing.
WORC Deputy Director of Compliance Mervin Manderson said, “We continue to advise the public of our intentions to continue with these types of collaborative operations to address illegal working breaches or other Immigration Transition Act infractions.”
“WORC remains committed to protecting Caymanians by bringing offenders to justice. I invite the public to continue to submit information about such illegal activities to our WORC complaints email address on the WORC website. I encourage employers and employees to take warning from these incidents and do the right thing, get themselves regularized, and in compliance with the Immigration Transition Act,” Mr. Manderson added.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Border Control & Labour, Hon. Chris Saunders said, “I applaud the WORC Compliance Unit and the partner agencies involved for conducting these joint operations and investigating suspected breaches of our immigration laws.”
He added, “I have said before, and I will say again, that disregard for our immigration laws will not be tolerated on my watch. Enforcement operations will continue to detect, investigate and prosecute any further breaches. While in the past, we have implored employers to comply, we are now expecting compliance and cracking down on all those who continue to disrespect the laws of the Cayman Islands. ”
Breaches of the Immigration Transition Act may be reported anonymously by visiting www.worc.ky, clicking on the complaints tab, completing the online form, and clicking the “Submit” button. Reports may also be made by email to [email protected].
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