Joint control
After all the commotion regarding the detention of children by local Immigration authorities, today comes news that preparations are underway to implement the Franco-Dutch treaty on joint border control. While there has been some concern about the more restrictive visa policy concerning Caribbean countries while no such restrictions apply for European Union member states, the events of the past days have shown how important it is to come to a uniform and clear visa policy, so that the entire issue of on which side the island people stay while here becomes superfluous and evasion more difficult.
It is important to remember that the French went along with nine exemption requests of the Netherlands Antilles, while talks are still ongoing on at least one of the remaining four countries in the region for which a visa requirement now exists. A joint policy between two nations will always require a degree of compromise and being granted 9 out of the 11 exemptions requested can certainly be considered a success for the Dutch side.
It is equally important to remember that the fact that Europeans are not required to have visas does not mean the island will be flooded by European immigrants as some have suggested, even referring to it as “genocide by substitution.” After all, there is still an admittance and expulsion regulation stipulating that foreigners, regardless of where they come from, must have residence permits if they wish to stay for more than a vacation and employment permits if they want to work on the Dutch side.
As an island shared by two nations and with an open border, St. Maarten/St. Martin simply needs a coordinated visa policy to have any type of effective control over the illegal immigrant problem. The sooner that can be achieved, the more effective border control will become and the better local authorities will be able to deal with violators.
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