by Iesha Musson, Constituency #20, Pembroke South West 

The MP Michael Fahy and the OBA are once again pushing their Pathways to Status scheme ignoring the will of the people and failing to address the inherent lack of fairness in their approach to growing the population 

Let’s be clear. The PLP  believes in an immigration system that is transparent, compassionate, and responsible. We believe that long-term residents who have contributed meaningfully to our society should have the opportunity to earn stability, but that it must not come at the expense of Bermudians.

Pathways to Status, as proposed by the OBA, has always tilted the scale toward those who already have advantage, and would grant property ownership and voting rights without fixing the systems that have long left Bermudians behind in our own country.

If you listen closely to the OBA, their approach has never prioritized fairness. In fact, their agenda has been more focused on making it easier for non-Bermudians to come in, earn the right to buy up Bermudian property and vote, then on pushing for opportunities for Bermudians who have left our shores to come home.

That’s a telling fact.

While we are attacking the cost of living and trying to find solutions that will make Bermuda more appealing to not only the Bermudians that have left, and also for those considering leaving,  the Opposition has shown more concern for importing the privileged than for welcoming back Bermudian talent.

That’s not immigration reform. That’s an Anti-Bermudian approach.

The OBA has not explained how their proposal will:

• Protect Bermudian workers from being displaced;
  
  
• Ensure affordable housing access for Bermudian families;
  
  
• Prevent employers from exploiting cheap foreign labour; or
  
  
• Create space for young Bermudians abroad to return and thrive at home.
  
  

Instead, they recycle a policy that sparked public outcry and protests because it was, and still is, deeply out of touch with the needs and expectations of the people of this country.

The PLP has taken a different path. We’ve developed immigration policies through public consultation, careful reform, and a commitment to ensuring that Bermudians come first, not as an afterthought, but as a guiding principle.

Immigration reform should be about strengthening Bermuda, not surrendering it

The difference is clear. The OBA’s version of immigration reform focuses on making Bermuda better for others while leaving the rest of us in the cold.

No matter how they try to repackage it, relaunch it or reintroduce it, the MP Michael Fahy and the OBA must LISTEN and accept that most Bermudians thoroughly reject their Pathways to Status scheme.  The days when Bermudians were forced to accept second-class citizenship is over and the PLP is committed to ensuring that the OBA will never be in the position to open the immigration floodgates and marginalize Bermudians.