Department of Internal Affairs

Former Logo of the Department of Internal Affairs

Banner of the Department of Internal Affairs

The **Department of Internal Affairs** (DIA) is an Executive department subordinate to the Office of the Secretary-General in the New West Indies government. The DIA is overseen by the Secretary of Internal Affairs (SIA). Cymiopolis, who was appointed by Karteria on November 15, 2019, is the current Secretary. Department tasks include overseeing cultural initiatives, immigration, citizenship, and representing the New West Indies in judicial proceedings.

Prior to the creation of the Roleplay Committee, the DIA administered the regional roleplay map. This authority led the department to gain the most attention throughout the Nascent Era of the New West Indies. As a result of General Assembly Resolution 021, the DIA began to officially represent the Region in judicial proceedings through the Region's Attorney. Following the passage of General Assembly Resolution 029, the department began to oversee cultural initiatives, such as private and public flag-making contests, anthem-writing, poetry, and other competitions.

## History

The Department of Internal Affairs stems from the original version of the Constitution, at least in spirit. Initially, only the Secretary of Internal Affairs existed as part of the Secretariat. Following the passage of General Assembly Resolution 011 on April 18, 2019, the current departments of the Executive government, including the DIA, were officially born. The departments were later enshrined by name into the Constitution.

The DIA did not house its first subordinate until December 4, 2019, when Celestiam was appointed to be Region's Attorney in accordance with GAR21. The first discretionary appointment came later, when Shakadia was appointed to be Puppet Administrator. Their task was to register all puppets housed in the region for electoral and other purposes. Multiple other nations became Puppet Administrators over the next few months before the position was shuttered. The SIA also appointed multiple Activity Moderators to help maintain the regional roleplay map when it was under the department's authority.

Following the department designation, the Karteria administration instituted new homepages for each department, including the DIA, to house its resources and manage its affairs. While the original DIA homepage has been deleted, it is apparent that the design was consistent with other departments.

## Structure

### Secretary of Internal Affairs

*Main Article: Secretary of Internal Affairs*

As the leader of the Department of Internal Affairs, the SIA is in charge with overseeing its duties, managing its organization, and ensuring basic functions. The SIA is one of four cabinet members in the Secretary-General's administration and are afforded Appearance, Communications, and Polls authority on-site.

As the face of the department, the SIA hears public comments and is the primary spokesperson for the department's activity.

List of Subordinate Agencies

## Roleplay

While the Department of Internal Affairs previously enforced roleplay law and administered the regional roleplay map, the latter authority was repealed via General Assembly Resolution 029 on February 9, 2020. Furthermore, despite the DIA still *de jure* maintaining its authority to enforce RP law, the Roleplay Codes were repealed on May 16, 2020. Until about a year later, the Department had no roleplay-related law to enforce.

However, on May 23, 2021, the General Assembly established the Roleplay Committee into law for the first time. Even though it had existed for some time, the Committee now had the legal authority to oversee the roleplay and administrate its activity. The DIA, therefore, ensures that the Committee maintains adequate authority.

## Immigration and Citizenship

*Main Article: Citizenship*

Under §18(a) of the Constitution, the Department of Internal Affairs is responsible for "issuing and revoking citizenship status." The General Assembly elaborated on this authority in General Assembly Resolution 001:

"The General Assembly of the New West Indies hereby:—

* **Mandates**, the Secretary-General and the Secretary of the Interior to review applications and issue citizenship.
* **Wields**, the Founder and the Secretary-General with a veto power to revoke any citizenship status if they deem the applicant to pose a threat to regional security.
* **Allows**, the General Assembly to overturn any veto decision made by the Founder or the Secretary-General.
* **Prohibits**, any player to keep more than one nation with citizenship status within the New West Indies.
* **Clarifies**, that the aforementioned paragraph does not include non-citizen puppets.
* **Requires**, the incumbent authorities to set up an application in form of a "Meta" dispatch.
* **Establishes**, citizenship application measures consisting of said dispatch, which needs to be filled in and sent to the Secretary-General and the Secretary of the Interior by the applicant."

Therefore, the citizenship application process, including its questions and filing, is handled by the DIA. Said application is contained in a NWI.gov dispatch pinned on the region's world factbook entry. Upon entering the region, a new nation is generally greeted and recommended to submit their application to NWI.gov via a telegram to the account. Depending on the strictness of the incumbent administration, a telegram to the SIA or Secretary-General also suffices. Before sending the telegram, any prospective applicant is required to complete a brief questionnaire:

1. > Name of Nation:
>
>
2. > Do you have any other nations? (If so, name all that haven't ceased to exist):
>
>
3. > Which region were you in prior to this one?:
>
>
4. > Are you in trouble with any other region?:
>
>
5. > Do you owe your previous region any commitments?:
>
>
6. > What can you offer the New West Indies?:
>
>
7. > What do you expect from the New West Indies?:
>
>

After submission of the application via an appropriate method, the handler of the application (generally the SIA) will notify the applicant whether or not they have been approved for citizenship. The applicant will be approved if they have completed the application, do not present a security risk, are not a puppet of a current citizen, and have not applied within four days of an election. If they are a puppet, they may generally switch citizenship to another nation. If within four days of an election, the application is put on hold until after the voting period has concluded.

## References

1. ↑ Appointment Announcement.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 §18 of the Constitution.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Resolutions of the General Assembly.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Employment Records.
5. ↑ Deleted Dispatch.
6. ↑ DIA Homepage.
7. ↑ New West Indies region page.
8. ↑ Citizenship Application.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 §02 of the Constitution.