Dear Editor,

Please allow me to tackle the issue of immigration.

Now that Justice Minister Magali Jacoba is cleaning up the Netherlands Antilles, most of the business people here on St. Maarten are murmuring. I have heard that some of them have said illegal people have kept the country afloat economically. In my line of work I have realised that, too. However, I have never subscribed to the theory that hiring illegal people is better than hiring Antilleans. As brother Christopher would say, "that cannot fly with me."

I have no qualms about hiring non-nationals, but they should be documented. And we have a right to reject any other nationals who did not meet the Brooks Tower Accord (BTA) requirement.

Undocumented people have been living here comfortably at our expense for eons. No apology, it just could not continue that way. Albeit, comrades, we will feel the consequences of the massive immigration raids. But sometimes you have to make certain sacrifices to get back on track. And it is never too late to do the right thing.

Thanks to the BTA, we now have a database showing how many other nationals are in our land. So let us use what we have to get what we need. What better time is there to clean house than now, when we are at the threshold of a new constitutional status?

Now is the time to put the natives and the Antilleans at the forefront.

After all, this is our turf. Love us or leave us.

Comrades, there is no shame in saying that St. Maarten is for St. Maarteners. Let us make some stickers and decorate the town with them. Comrades, do not be afraid to reclaim your birth right. I am very proud to be a son of the soil.

I would like to thank all those who big me up from time to time.

Julien Petty