By TOSHEENA ROBINSON-BLAIR
Associated Press
NASSAU, Bahamas — Four airport workers pleaded innocent to charges of helping Haitian migrants bypass a U.S. immigration checkpoint at Nassau’s airport, authorities said. The Haitians were stopped before boarding a flight to Miami.
The four men entered their pleas at an arraignment hearing Tuesday.
Magistrate Marilyn Meeres set bail at $5,000 for each worker and scheduled a trial for Nov. 11. All four posted bail, court officials said.
The four workers allegedly helped six Haitians enter the airport’s U.S. departure lounge early Friday, without the migrants first showing proper documents to U.S. immigration and customs officials.
The six Haitians were trying to board a Bahamasair flight to Miami. Authorities detained them in the departure lounge.
The maximum sentence for the charge of abetting migrants in breaking immigration laws is two years in prison or a $3,000 fine, prosecutors said.
The Haitians were charged with breaching the country’s Airport Act and airport security regulations, and were being detained by police.
Many Haitians come to the Bahamas, a wealthier nation off southeastern Florida, seeking opportunity and often a way to reach the United States. Most illegal migrants who are caught are sent back to their impoverished country.
Labor and Immigration Minister Vincent Peet said airport security is a major concern.
“We are doing everything that we can do to avoid a breach or correct a situation were there are security breaches,” he said.
The workers charged were identified as Clive Kent Schroeter, 30, Harry Timar, 35, Jerome Sands, 30, and Bernard Bowleg, 31.
The Haitian migrants were identified as Shelley Joseph, 29, Roseline Pierre, 29, Ermitha Estelhomme, 25, Jean Paul, 39, Alfred Lerenfant, 40, and Marc Demas, 28.
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