Judge suspends Minister suspension against Mr. Hoo of Immigration
This morning, the Judge of the Court of Justice for Government Employees issued a ruling in the case that Mr. Hoo, Director of Immigration, started against the prohibition imposed by the Minister of Justice preventing Hoo from entering Immigration.
It can be understood that the Judge indicated that it appears the Minister is conducting a fishing expedition to find reasons to remove Hoo. The Judge suspended the Minister’s decision.
MINISTER SUSPENDS HOO
The Minister of Justice decided to extend the prohibition preventing Hoo from entering the Immigration premises and office. The decision was made on February 18, 2026, stating that the prohibition of January 8, 2026 would be extended by six weeks, starting February 19, 2026.
Hoo was appointed Director of Immigration Aruba (IA) as of January 23, 2024, and there had already been a previous ruling in which the Court Judge suspended the Minister’s decision against Hoo.
PROBLEM BETWEEN MINISTER AND HOO
The Minister of Justice decided on October 21, 2025, to assign Hoo responsibility for coordinating the independence of the driver’s license department for a period of six months. In the Minister’s decision, the Minister questioned Hoo’s way of working at Immigration and stated that Hoo had made inappropriate remarks on WhatsApp about the Minister.
Hoo protested this decision, and the Court Judge suspended the Minister’s decision until the Court made a final ruling on Hoo’s protest. This resulted in Hoo being able to return to Immigration and work as Director from December 15, 2025.
However, although the Minister withdrew the earlier decision, on January 8, 2026, the Minister decided to immediately prohibit Hoo from entering Immigration premises and offices. The Minister stated in the decision that the suspension was related to an investigation into Hoo’s management practices and suspicions that Hoo may have altered information in the RADEX system and in financial-administrative matters.
POLITICAL PERSECUTION
Attorney Mr. Steward, who defended Mr. Hoo, argued in Court that they disagree with the Minister’s decision and that it is unjust and excessively long. The attorney stated that the Minister, since taking office, for political or personal reasons, has been seeking ways to create distrust in order to remove Hoo from his position.
The attorney argued that the reasons mentioned by the Minister to justify the decision are identical to those used in the previous suspension.
In the attorney’s opinion, the situation has not changed compared to December 2025. The attorney stated that Hoo denies altering information in RADEX and denies violating financial-administrative regulations.
MINISTER’S FISHING EXPEDITION
In evaluating the case, the Judge indicated that according to the law, when the Minister takes a disciplinary measure, there must be concrete reasons. The Minister must also specify the period during which the measure takes effect and its duration.
Furthermore, the Minister must clearly explain how the presence of the government employee at work would hinder investigations.
The Judge noted that during the proceedings, he asked questions about the concrete reasons, and the Minister’s attorney did not provide satisfactory answers. The Judge found that the entire matter appears to be a failed attempt without proper justification from the Minister.
The Judge stated that he has the impression that the Minister is conducting a “fishing expedition” with the goal of finding reasons to remove Hoo from his job.
DECISION OF THE JUDGE
The Judge’s decision is to suspend the Minister’s decision of February 18, 2026, until a ruling is made on the objection against that decision.
This means that Hoo may return to his position.