By Bridgett Milton
Nimba County District #7 Representative Musa Hassan Bility, has presented a bill to the House, seeking to amend certain provisions of the Liberian Aliens and Nationality laws of 2022.
According to Rep. Bility, the Bill undertakes a general revision and modernization of these laws that he says is needed and long overdue, particularly with respect to citizenship, immigration, and naturalization, and seeks to provide a policy that is in tune with the current global realities.
He notes that the submission is an omnibus bill which would revise and codify all of the laws relating to immigration, naturalization, and nationality.
‘’In recent years, our citizenship, immigration, and naturalization policy has become a matter of major national concern with questions about its effect on our national and cultural fabric and what we do in this area is vital to the continued growth and development in our quest for a unification among Liberians, critical to our economic and social strength, pertinent to the conduct of our foreign relations, and most important, critical to our responsibilities of moral leadership in the struggle for unity”, he says.
He adds that the bill recognizes the great domestic and international significance of Liberian citizenship, immigration, and naturalization policies, and takes a step to improve existing laws to alleviate the perpetuation of division that hampers efforts being made to rally support for unification and decrease the repressive and inhumane aspects of immigration procedures by removing restrictions on citizenship of natural born Liberians and their children, removing unnecessary barriers to immigration and naturalization, and proposing alternative immigration and migration requirements.
Bility says it also strikes down the marks of prejudice and removes repressive measures directed at all who seek a new and better life within the country’s borders, while addressing the need to remove archaic and colonial references to black people and women.
“Today, it seems that we are still “protecting” ourselves, as we were in 1876 during the colonial and slave period, against being flooded by immigrants and even diaspora Liberians”, he argues.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
According to him, it is time Liberians open their doors and welcome citizenship, immigration, and naturalization as a means to economic development and growth, noting that in no other area of their nation’s laws are Liberians so encumbered by the dead hand of the past, as they are in citizenship, immigration, and naturalization policies.
The Nimba County lawmaker said we must not limit our social growth or hold our economic growth to the environment of 1876 but rather should welcome progress and change to meet changing conditions in every sphere of life.
“Now is the time to start shaking off the dead weight of past mistakes; the time to develop laws on citizenship, immigration, and naturalization that are a true reflection of the ideals we proclaim to stand for.”
He says in the last few years, Liberians began this work with the enactment of the dual citizenship clause and it was a major win for the country, so Liberians must continue the work to further create laws not to keep people out, but to bring qualified and productive people in and find better ways to meet the immigration challenges of the 1870’s that are so prevalent in the Alien and Nationality Law.
“We must not restrict the inalienable rights of natural born Liberians, who have taken on the citizenship of other countries but not denounced Liberian citizenship, to serve their country as elected officials. We must instead recognize the conditions and necessities that compelled our citizens in the diaspora to seek citizenship elsewhere in the world and not subject they and their children to discriminatory practices; we must adequately deal with the provisions of our existing laws related to the qualifications of aliens and immigrants for admission and the administration of the laws. We must not make it difficult for people of character and investors to enter and become resident aliens of our country. We must instead remove the looming threat of surreptitious deportation at any moment that makes Resident Aliens frightened to invest and/or cause capital flight.”
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has forwarded the communication to the committees on Judiciary, Labor, Good Governance, and Foreign Affairs, to report to the body. Editing by Jonathan Browne
