COLE BAY--Antillean Justice Minister Magali Jacoba expects many more undocumented Haitians to register for protection here than in Curaçao.
With more than 600 having applied for temporary immunity from repatriation this week, Haitians here have already outnumbered the 170 Haitians in Curaçao who registered for the same status. Curaçao ended its registration Monday while St. Maarten began registering undocumented Haitians the same day.
"In Curaçao, it's not going as well as here," the minister told The Daily Herald Friday during a visit to the Salvation Army building in Cole Bay. It was one of two stops for her on a one-day visit to St. Maarten. Workers there told Jacoba it was a "slow day," with fewer than 10 persons awaiting registration.
The minister still expects more than 1,200 Haitians who would have fallen under the Brooks Tower Accord (BTA) Category Three to apply for protection from immigration controls that have already resumed. Registration ends on March 31.
Police and Immigration officers arrested 14 persons Tuesday for being undocumented.
Only two groups of undocumented Haitians will be safe from controls until the end of the year: those who arrived in the Netherlands Antilles after January 1, 2006, and before January 12, 2010; and those who arrived before 2006 and tried but failed to get protection under BTA.
Haitian men, women and children who could have qualified for BTA protection, but didn't apply can only stay until August 31.
The Central Government announced in February that it would allow Haitians who live here without proper documents to stay in the Antilles longer while international aid workers help to rebuild Haiti after the January 12 earthquake.
The Central Government has taken a "carrot and stick" approach to dealing with undocumented Haitians: they either register to stay here a few months longer, or they are repatriated immediately for refusing to register.
Justice Ministry workers handed out 148 temporary residence permits and identity sheets Monday, while about 19 persons were asked to return with their passports. Persons who could have obtained BTA permits (98) outnumbered those who couldn't have (50) almost two-to-one on the first day. Figures for the first week of controls were not available.
The document shows when the holder must leave. It also includes a disclaimer that threatens repatriation if the holder is found to have submitted false information.
"So far, it's going well," Jacoba said about Haitian registration. Tiara Haselhoef said earlier this week that they hoped to register at least 2,000 persons.
Only Dutch St. Maarten residents are safe from controls and only while they are on the Dutch side.
The Central Government is taking a hard-line stance against forged documents. On Thursday a Haitian man was held immediately for repatriation at the police station for trying to collect a BTA permit using a false passport.
"This is going to have people again thinking it's a trap," said Jacoba defending officers for "doing their job" in detaining the unidentified man and encouraging applicants to "do the right thing." "This is a serious project; we take this seriously. You cannot expect to get a permit if your documents are false."
She said Haitians seemed to be shying away from registering, but it was better for them to get their permits than not.
