Musa Calls New Immigration Post a Vote of Confidence

In a candid exchange with reporter Paul Lopez, Minister Kareem Musa addressed speculation about his political trajectory following his move from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the newly formed Ministry of Immigration, Governance, and Labor. When asked how his political career would survive without the influence he wielded at Home Affairs, Musa admitted the question caught him off guard. “I have never thought about it like that,” he said, noting that many consider Home Affairs a “death trap” for political careers. Far from viewing the shift as a demotion, Musa described his new appointment as a “huge vote of confidence” from the Prime Minister. The ministry combines three critical portfolios: Immigration, Governance, and Labor, each with significant legal and administrative challenges. Here’s more from Minister Musa.

 

Paul Lopez

“How will your political survive without that level of political clout and influence that you were able to carry and throw around in the Ministry of Home Affairs now that you are in the Ministry of Immigration?”

 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration

“I have never heard that question before, and I have never thought about it like that, because if you listen to anyone else, aside from Paul Lopez, they will tell you that the ministry of Home Affairs is a death trap for your political career, political suicide. So a lot of people are messaging me and saying you are now going to be able to really thrive as a minister, not having all that pressure on you anymore as a minister. And really and truly I was a minister that took ever single gunshot, every single murder on my own shoulders. A lot of people told me that, hence all the grey hairs I have developed over the years. I don’t know how to take your question, cause a lot of people are saying I have even greater opportunities over at the Ministry of Immigration.”

 

Paul Lopez

“How can you not see your appointment at the Ministry of Immigration at a demotion, when essentially it appears as if the prime minister created a ministry by taking Immigration from Minister Fonseca, took Governance from Public Service and now here you are with a ministry.”

 

Kareem Musa

“It is three very powerful portfolios. As I mentioned a lot of them have legal issues, especially over at labor where there is a number of trade disputes live right now. I haven’t not had a chance to sit down with the Labor Commissioner as yet, but there is a lot to be done. I look at it as a huge vote of confidence by the Prime Minister.”