The government has yet to deliver an official response to Civil Society Bahamas (CSB), as officials remain tight-lipped on the immigration action plan proposal.
Members of CSB remain in the dark, as government officials are hush-hush on matters surrounding the organisation’s proposal on how to solve illegal immigration and deal with other related immigration matters in The Bahamas. CSB Ad-Interim President, Frederick Munnings, said although no government officials have entertained the proposal, they will not stop their fight to have an action plan in place.
“We have not gotten an official response from anybody,” Mr Munnings said. “We have asked for an official response, we have not gotten an official response, therefore, we are taking it to the next step.”
According to Mr Munnings, the document was delivered to several government officials on August 23 last year, but still, the organisation has yet to hear from any of them. Mr Munnings said the lack of response from the government makes members of CSB more eager to find other ways to deal with “this vexing issue.” He added that members of the organisation will hand deliver copies of the proposal to all parliamentarians, as they arrive at the House of Assembly today. In this way, Mr Munnings continued, their message should get across more clearly.
The document is divided into two parts, with the first providing a 15-point proposal on how to tackle illegal immigration. It deals with issues such as the prosecution of Bahamians found employing illegal nationals, beefing up security at the country’s borders through the Defence Force and the round-up and deportation of all illegal immigrants entering The Bahamas after 1985.
“Harbouring illegal immigrants must immediately be made a criminal offence,” the proposal said. “Any Bahamian national found harbouring illegal immigrants must be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”
Other suggestions include the installation and implementation of a tracking system to screen visitors, to ensure that they don’t overstay their time, the revocation of citizenship of any foreign national who has been granted citizenship but caught trafficking or harbouring illegal nationals. The second part of the proposal deals with other immigration matters such as the issuance of work permits, the introduction of a Skills Bank that will ascertain needs in the labour force and the immediate implementation of a search of all Haitian trading boats coming into The Bahamas.
Mr Munnings added that with illegal immigration, comes conflicts. A matter that he believes is now manifesting itself throughout the country.
By:IANTHIA SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter
