the grant of status to Island residents with "close Bermuda family ties.'' Immigration Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman said amendments to the Immigration and Protection Amendment Act would strengthen Bermuda families.

For example, one change would allow unrestricted access to the job market for non-Bermudian spouses of Bermudians "as if he or she was Bermudian''.

The Bill would extend the rights to status of spouses of Bermudians who die.

It would also reduce the status resident requirement to 10 years from 21 years for long-term resident children.

Mr. Pearman said the changes were intended to remove "impediments so that the family structure can grow from strength to strength.'' The amendments "take away anything that acts against the strength of the family.'' Opposition spokesman Mr. Alex Scott said the Progressive Labour Party agreed with some of the amendments but not others.

"It is a package deal we received with mixed emotions,'' he said. "It is a step that includes initiatives of merit, but we did not hear (the Minister) speak of any consideration of the home-grown family.

"I advise the Minister to demonstrate openly that he's concerned about us gis and us girls, ve folks.'' Other beneficiaries in the amending bill -- "people with a qualifying Bermudian connection'' -- include the child of a Bermudian, a person who was Bermudian but lost their status and a person who was deemed domiciled in Bermuda under the original 1937 Act but lost it.

Mr. Pearman said another beneficiary included the person who "believes that he or she is Bermudian, has acted like a Bermudian and is treated by people in the Bermuda community as if he or she were Bermudian.

"These (beneficiaries) will be granted Bermudian status on application if they have been ordinarily resident in Bermuda for 10 years and are of good character and conduct.'' As part of the change, Mr. Pearman's bill abolished the system of discretionary grants -- the once controversial system that secured status for about 40 people a year before Government imposed a moratorium in 1989.

That five-year moratorium, which expires on August 1, was passed to give Government time to study the situation and make changes to the law which the community "would find reasonable.'' The 1991 census helped Government "clarify the effects of Bermudian status on the demographics of Bermuda.'' Mr. Pearman said the census showed that between 1960 and 1980 Bernudians born in Bermuda increased 15 percent and between 1980 and 1991 by eight percent.

"Between 1960 and 1980, the foreign-born Bermudians increased 23 percent. But between 1980 and 1991 they decreased in numbers by two percent.'' Many of the amendments appeared aimed at preserving the family unit. For example, the bill created a "special case'' class to include alien women who were deemed to possess status on the basis of marriage to a Bermudian and being registered as British.

"Such a woman who then divorced her husband ceased to be treated as a Bermudian,'' Mr. Pearman said. "That created harship for the offspring.

"Many of these women believed that they had been registered as Bermudians not as British nationals. They can now benefit after years of residence if of good conduct and character.'' Mr. Pearman said the spouse employment rights were eased because "this is an issue of economic well-being and family stability. We live in a society that needs both parents working.'' The Minister said the provisions did not mean a relaxation of status requirements for spouses: 10 years of marriage and seven years being ordinarily resident in Bermuda.

Mr. Pearman also defended the extension of spouse employment rights because Bermudians send their children abroad to study where they are exposed to the possibility of meeting a non-Bermudian spouse.

The Minister added: "If you think about it, it's healthy for our society genetically.'' Mr. Scott said Mr. Pearman had seen fit to bolster the rights of non-Bermudians. But his Ministry was, perhaps, not as "vigilant'' as it could be in safeguarding the interests of Bermudians.

For instance, why were the jobs of Bermudian musicians not being protected? "What additional plans are there for Bermudians?'' Mr. Scott asked.

He then turned to new job opportunities thrown up by the 1995 closure of the US Base and asked whether Bermudians would be given the chance to get these jobs, such as in air operations? Mr. Scott then turned to the problems faced by long-term residents, in particular the Portuguese.

What was being done to help them? Mr. Scott said there was no need to extend status to any more people.

But the Progressive Labour Party had put forward the idea of a permanent residency scheme.

Under this, long-term residents would be given greater security.

"It would give someone at least a claim to Bermuda, so they know they won't be on the next boat.

"Residents should be considered on a case by case basis. Government could review each case as it comes up.'' Mr. Scott said the UBP Government had brought problems on long-term residents on itself.

It had invited people to stay for five years, and then 10, 20 even 25 years.

"The burden has shifted. By inviting them we encourage them to stay, and once they go past 10 or 15 years we have something called `natural justice'.'' Mr. Scott read out numbers on non-Bermudian residents who have been here more than 20 years.

The figures were: 393 Portuguese; 316 English; 327 American; 76 Canadian; 206 West Indian; and 154 others.

These non-Bermudians amounted to 2.5 percent of the population.

Mr. Scott finished by repeating his main theme: Government must do more to protect the rights -- particularly the jobs -- of Bermudians.

Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess strongly backed the legislation.

And he took Mr. Scott to task for appearing to have a "great deal of difficulty with the idea of allowing a spouse of a Bermudian to marry one day and work the next''.

This prompted cries from the Opposition that Mr. Burgess had misinterpreted Mr. Scott's speech.

Opposition MPs said they supported the bill.

Mr. Burgess, however, pressed on and refused to yield to Mr. Scott who wanted to clarify his position.

He continued by saying it was common sense the foreign wife of a Bermudian should have employment rights.

It was particularly the case when the couple had children, Mr. Burgess added.

"This family ought to be given equal opportunity to get employment. The children have to eat, go to school and have equal opportunities in Bermuda in the way we are supposed to be so proud of.

"It makes eminent sense for these children to have parents that work.'' Mr. Burgess said the bill was part of a process in improving people's rights.

"It brings a sense of parity in Bermudian families and the Bermudian community.'' He imagined immigration legislation would constantly be changing to reflect an ever-changing Bermuda.

Government backbencher the Hon. Harry Soares highlighted the importance of the family.

In the past families had survived on the income of just one parent. This was no longer the case.

Mr. Soares said more young Bermudians nowadays were also going overseas to work -- and they were marrying foreigners.

"Everybody has to have two pay packets. Under this legislation a non-Bermudian spouse has the right of employment from day one.

"I do have one small concern, however, and that is the marriage of convenience.

"Perhaps a person is on his deathbed and a marriage takes place just so his spouse can work in Bermuda.'' Mr. Soares said he was sure Mr. Pearman would keep under scrutiny the rights of long-term residents.

He felt, perhaps, more could be done for a non-Bermudian with Bermudian children and grand-children.

These cases could be looked at more leniently, he suggested.

Shadow Human Affairs Minister Miss Renee Webb said she was struck how often MPs misinterpreted -- perhaps deliberately -- each other's speeches.

It was entirely wrong for Mr. Burgess to make out that the Opposition opposed the bill.

"It is clear on our side of the House that we support the rights of spouses of Bermudians.'' Miss Webb stressed she had previously raised in the House of Assembly the plight of these spouses.

She told Mr. Pearman these spouses were being discriminated against by not being allowed to work -- and consequently Bermudian families were suffering.

"Mr. Irving Pearman said he took the point and would be bringing legislation to the House.

"We on this side of the House are pleased the Minister has included this in the bill.'' Miss Webb pointed out some members in the PLP had foreign spouses.

There was recognition of the importance of both spouses being able to work.

"We embrace this section of the bill and compliment the Minister.'' Miss Webb went on to stress the problems of long-term residents were self-inflicted.

"We invited people to our shores to work 10, 15, 20 years. We have allowed this situation to take place, and therefore we must take responsibility.'' Miss Webb said there were more than 1,000 people who had been here 20 or 25 years.

"We do not support all of these people being given blanket status. However, it does not seem far-fetched to say perhaps we should look at something like a green card system so it would be possible for these residents to be protected.

They wouldn't be Bermudians. They would be given a residency card.'' Government had to face up to the problem. Were these long-term residents going to get kicked out, which was one option? This was not an option, however, she was willing to espouse, said Miss Webb.

It was unfair to leave these people in a state of uncertainty.

Something had to be done -- and unfortunately the plight of these people was not covered in the bill, said Miss Webb.

Government backbencher Mr. John Barritt praised Miss Webb's speech for its clarity.

He went on to point out the difficulty faced by Mr. Pearman in coming up with immigration legislation.

Legislation may not take account of every possible eventuality -- and anomalies may arise from time to time.

There was, also, always the possibility of abuse, said Mr. Barritt.

An example was the "marriage of convenience'' which Mr. Soares had touched upon.

But, said Mr. Barritt, what an Immigration Minister could reasonably strive to achieve was balance.

And this is what Mr. Pearman had set out to do, by taking care of families which had a non-Bermudian spouse.

This bill, however, was not the "be all and end all'' of immigration legislation. More would inevitably follow.

Turning to long-term residents, Mr. Barritt admitted there were still some "anomalies''. He hoped these could be addressed.

While he recognised that a small, densely populated country like Bermuda had "to keep (its) population under control,'' Mr. Reginald Burrows (PLP) acknowledged that the Island was "in a very unusual position'' when it came to immigration.

"I think all of us for a long time have been very concerned about the privileges of foreign spouses (in Bermuda),'' he said. "(But) I realise that it is very helpful for people in a small country to go overseas and seek foreign spouses for genetic reasons.

"It was very easy for a boy not so long ago to go out in Bermuda and find out that the girl he was seeing was his cousin. (Consequently) it is inhuman to deny long-term residents their rights. Most of us are glad that the Minister has made a step in the right direction to ensure that non-Bermudians receive rights that they were not privileged to before.'' Mr. Trevor Moniz (UBP) was also sympathetic to the cause of long-term residents, especially the Island's Portuguese community, which he felt was poorly served by the new bill. "I am glad to see that there is some flexibility in the body of the Act,'' he said. "(But) I would like to express my disappointment that we have not seen fit to include (long-term Portuguese residents) in the perimeters of this bill.

"I think that we will have to do so eventually.'' Mr. Eugene Cox (PLP) had two sources of contention: the lack of concrete information to go with the bill and the UBP's refusal to consider issuing permanent residency passes similar to US green cards.

"He (Mr. Pearman) hasn't been fair to us by coming here today without any figures on the number of people that are affected (by the bill).

"I (also) disagree with some members who disagree with permanent residency -- it's the next best thing to citizenship. We can't grant citizenship anyway -- we're a colony.'' Most of all, Mr. Cox objected to the dearth of adequate job training for native Bermudians, who, he said, would be able to fill more local positions if they were as well-equipped as foreigners.

"We tend to deny our people training and for the longest time we didn't even provide adequate scholarships,'' he said. "Even now, when we do have scholarships, they go to the people who least need them.

"What we have,'' he continued, "is a mechanism and a networking that thwarts our immigration policies. Are we taking care of Bermudians? I see a number of expatriates who are circumventing the rules and being allowed to get what they want.'' In response, Mr. David Dyer (UBP) suggested that widespread changes must come with time.

"We have to move in a gradual, step-by-step manner and with a certain degree of logic,'' he said. The reason for doing it gradually is to identify how many people are involved.

"We (currently) have no way of knowing how many Bermudians are affected (by the bill).

"This is a good beginning and the Minister has given every intention of moving forward and recognising the Bermudian family in the general sense.'' Continued in Monday's newspaper