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Former Director Marin Comments On UDP’s Pursuing Immigration Docs
posted (January 4, 2017)

When the Hearings resumed after lunch, it was time for Marin to take questions on the substance of the Auditor General’s report. A major reveal in the report are that UDP Politicians, both elected and unelected, intervened at the Immigration Department to get immigration documents approved for persons they recommended.
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A number of those persons, according to the Audit, did not qualify for visas, nationality, or passports. Yet, they got those documents any way, and in some instance, it happened with lightning speed, some in the matter of days.

Well today, under oath, Marin confirmed what some of the findings suggest, that Ministers were indeed attempting to exert influence on officers at the Immigration Department to get documents for specific applicants. Here’s that back and forth between the Committee and Maria Marin:

Hon. Dr. Carla Barnett - UDP Senator
"Would there have been occasions in which particular pressure would have been brought on you or any of your officers if an application came incomplete?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"I don't know about the officers, I don't recall anybody..."

Hon. Dr. Carla Barnett - UDP Senator
"But those would come to you anyways?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Right. There were instances where minister would have to intervene."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"What does that mean?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"The minister who is recommending may come and say well you know that's pety -- a photograph that is not clear enough or the application not being complete, not being signed or sometimes they felt like maybe there should have been more flexibility, those were the terms I heard were being used. Pety, inflexible, unreasonable but the fact is that those were requirements and so when that was the situation we would send it back and so ministers would want to know why do you need to be inflexible, why do you need to be that strict about it or such a stickler for it and those were the requirements. So minister would then address that issue with them at his level."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"So you want us to believe Ms. Marin that in all cases in which you are aware of, you were insistent on strict compliance with all the requirements and there was none where there was inflexibility where you were involved?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"That was the case in every situation where the application did not meet the requirements."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"In so far as you are aware?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"But you know of fact that there were approvals where there was noncompliance?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Not by me."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"I understand that, you said when you are concerned you insisted on compliance. I'm just asking you whether you're aware of visas where persons who did not complete the requirements got visas?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"I would need to look at the documents but I was careful because there was indication of that, yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"There were some indication of that and in respect of nationality and passports the same?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"I was very careful of it because yes there was some indication that people were getting nationality out of the formal or official process."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"You still insist Ms. Marin that these recommenders who were recommending people for visa that it was irrelevant?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"And they kept doing it?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"And you just kept tracking it."

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"Finding how much it is and reporting it to the political directorate?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Yes sir."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"I want to suggest to you that in all seriousness it was more than that and I want to suggest to you that the reason ministers and I'm saying ministers were recommending people for visa, it was sending a message to people in the immigration department. This one have my backing, process it."

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"Played no role when it came to my decision."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"To you, that's why I said the immigration department. Any comment?"

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"No officer came to me at any time to tell me that they were pressured or they were told approve this, they did not come to me."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"They didn't have to tell you that, everybody knew."

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"I am not in a position to say that is the case because that did not influence my decision."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"Ms. Marin you keep absolving yourself. The reason we are having this investigation and I'm being very serious is because a culture developed in the immigration department of intervention by ministers and I'm suggesting to you that the reason that the ministers recommended even though you are saying it is irrelevant as so far as you are concerned, it was a signal to the immigration department this has my backative, process it and that is why ministers according to you would intervene and saying you are being inflexible man."

Maria Marin - Former Director of Immigration
"And that was the culture that we were trying to remove, that was the culture we were trying to remove from the get go."

Marin also told the Senate Committee that the frequency with which sitting Ministers were recommending applicants for documents was a red-flag for her. She then started tracking the number of recommendations she got from those Ministers. PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay asked her to disclose those numbers, and she attempted to retrieve it from her electronic documents. In the end, however, they agreed that her report on the number of recommendations, and from which Ministers, will be emailed to the National Assembly Staff.  
Marin also stressed today that as Acting Immigration Director, she did not tolerate incomplete applications. She testified that she often had to meet with certain senior Immigration Officials who consistently sent her incomplete applications to warn that they will not be tolerated.

 

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