It's one of the hottest hot seats in the government service, and no department has been as publicly tainted by controversy as Immigration. Outgoing Director Diana Locke has done a lot to clean it up - but all eyes are watching to see whether the government will keep that trend going - especially with an election around the corner. As is well known - and this has been the political practice for decades - immigration is a major means of regularizing new voters.

So, the question has centered over whether it will be someone from inside the Department of if Government will bring in another outsider.

Tonight, we know that it will be an internal promotion. Deborah Baptist Estrada - will be brought over from the Department of Nationality. Baptist - Estrada has many years of experience in the Immigration Department, and has been lauded for her integrity by no less than the US government, who gave her the International Women of Courage Award in 2016.

But, sources in the department tell us that her ascension has been met with some pushback from inside. Other officers - who have worked to get a Bachelor's Degree point out that she only has an Associates degree. They also point out that when the Department was split in 2018, she went over to Nationality and is now being brought back.

Indeed many within the Immigration Department are being passed over - and sources in Cabinet tell us that the behind the scenes issue is that a fair number of more senior officers are unable to travel to the US.

We asked the Minister of State in the Ministry of Immigration Beverly Williams for comment and she said that "The requirement is not so much for academics but experience, abilities and integrity among others." By those counts, Baptist-Estrada received Cabinet's endorsement and is expected to take up the office next week.