Currently, the Lieutenant-Governor rules on matters concerning applications for asylum and court recommendations for deportation.
However, a proposition lodged by Chief Minister Ian Gorst is calling for those powers to be transferred to the Home Affairs Department.
Similar laws in the UK fall under the remit of the Home Secretary. The proposition, if approved, would means Jersey’s immigration laws are administered in a more like-for-like way with the UK.
Last year Iranian Amir Merikhi was granted asylum in the UK by the then Lieutenant-Governor, General Sir John McColl, after being found in the boot of a car by Customs officials at the Harbour.
And while the courts may make recommendations for deportation if a criminal is deemed to have abused the right to live in Jersey, it is the Lieutenant-Governor who ultimately makes the final decision.
The proposition is due to be debated on Tuesday 23 May.
