Immigration Minister Derrick Burgess has rejected calls for a joint public meeting with campaigners against a new property law that some say penalises Bermudians married to foreigners.

Members of Land Opportunities for All Bermudians (LOAB) — a lobbying group formed after the Bermudian Immigration and Protection Amendment Act became law this summer — met with Mr. Burgess on October 29 to try to convince him to take another look at the legislation.

Under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2007, Bermudians married to non-Bermudians are prevented from owning more than one property if the spouse is to help pay for it or is to benefit in any way from it, such as by living in the property or receiving rental income.

Those mixed-status couples who owned more than one property before June 22, 2007 will be issued licences for them as long as they apply before June 22, 2010.

LOAB's position is that the law discriminates against Bermudians by restricting property rights of any Bermudian who has married or may marry a foreigner.

At the meeting, Mr. Burgess rejected the group's suggestion to hold a joint public meeting to clarify the Act. Malika Taylor, spokesperson for LOAB, said the group pointed out there was still confusion between bankers, lawyers and the public about the act. She also said the Minister suggested the public can contact his ministry directly.

Although they weren't able to accomplish what they wanted, Mrs. Taylor said: "We are pleased that the Minister provided an opportunity for us to discuss the various ways in which Bermudians and their families are being affected by the new Act. Additionally, we were able to obtain clarification on some aspects of the Act, which was very helpful. However, we were disappointed that the Minister was unwilling to take another look at the changes pertaining to Bermudians married to non-Bermudians."

Ronnie Viera of LOAB, also present at the meeting said: "We were unable to convince the Minister that it is wrong for the new law to consider a Bermudian/non-Bermudian couple in a legitimate marriage, as fronting. The fact that the Bermudian in the relationship is now being discriminated against by the new law, was also not accepted."

Mr. Viera also said ministry officials were unable to produce statistics on how many Bermudian/non-Bermudian spouses own land leading them to believe Mr. Burgess doesn't know what portion of the 37 percent of foreigners owning land relates to non-Bermudian spouses.

Despite the outcome, LOAB plans to fight on with Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Viera at the helm.

"We expressed our gratitude at having the opportunity to meet with the Minister but we made it clear that we did not agree with his position and that we would continue our public campaign to convince the Government to reconsider. Now is the time for people to make a lot of noise if they want to see some change. If there is silence, the law will remain in place and the rights of many Bermudians, now and in the future, will continue to be restricted. We will not stop until we convince whoever the Government will be going forward, that they cannot continue to treat Bermudians married to foreigners like second class citizens," said Mr. Viera.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour and Immigration said they offered no comment at the moment.

LOAB can be contacted via email at loab[AT]gmail.com.