Immigration authorities were yesterday facing a crisis as more than 500 undocumented Haitian migrants were apprehended since the weekend, pushing the total number of migrants at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre to 820.
“This is chaotic,” Assistant Director of Immigration Weston Saunders told The Bahama Journal as officials tried to get a handle on the situation.
By early afternoon they had repatriated 114 Haitians to their homeland and soon sent another group of 114 back to Haiti, bringing the number of Haitians remaining at the Detention Centre to 451. They added to the 141 other illegal immigrants who were being detained at the facility.
Authorities said it cost $60,000 to repatriate the two groups of immigrants yesterday.
Additional Defence Force officers, armed with machine guns, had to be brought in to help process the illegal migrants who remained, as scores of other Haitians, believed to be documented, poured onto the street outside the facility, some carrying bags of food and other items to help their countrymen.
The migrants lined the fences as Haitians on the outside reached out and talked to them in their native tongue, but officials did not allow any visitors during the processing.
Some visitors then crowded another section outside the facility and were able to speak with detainees through the fence, inquiring whether they were “okay”.
Meanwhile, an interpreter helped authorities get vital information from the latest groups of illegal immigrants brought in.
Hundreds of Haitian migrants sat on the small field of the Detention Centre waiting to be processed before sent to dorms, but authorities admitted that it would be difficult to house all of them given that the facility can only comfortably accommodate approximately 500 people.
As it grew later in the day, officials noted the urgency of their work. They were trying to process all of the illegal migrants before sunset.
Overseeing activities at the Detention Centre, Mr. Saunders said authorities were facing quite a dilemma.
“It’s a bit unpredictable in here with the different nationals,” he said in an interview, after The Bahama Journal was allowed onto the compound. “Some of the nationals don’t like mixing up with the others. For instance, the Cubans, the Haitians and the Jamaicans they don’t particularly care to mix, but we don’t have the facility to accommodate [different groups] of nationals.”
Earlier in the day, Minister of Labour and Immigration Vincent Peet admitted that the influx of Haitian migrants, which comes two weeks after Haitian elections, was posing a significant challenge.
“I think the numbers are certainly much larger than we’ve seen in recent times,” Minister Peet said. “It certainly can be described as an influx, the numbers involved and the frequency of the boats coming. We certainly hope that the numbers are reduced and we’re working closely with the US Coast Guard.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Saunders told The Bahama Journal that authorities fear that more undocumented Haitians are on the way.
“I anticipate this influx to be as a result of the Haitian elections just over a week ago,” he said. “Some four boats were intercepted over the past 48 hours and it is anticipated that more will be on the way. So again, we’re expecting some outside help and we’ve advised our Defence Force to be vigilant and ready for whatever eventuality should happen.”
In a 24-hour period, between Monday and yesterday, the Defence Force apprehended 300 Haitians in Bahamian waters.
The most recent group of 108, which was detained in the vicinity of Hawksbill Cay in the Exuma chain sometime around 2:20 a.m. yesterday, was transported to the Defence Force base at Corl Harbour before being taken to the Detention Centre.
Authorities said the 88 males and 20 females, one of whom indicated that they left Port Au Paix, Haiti on Saturday, all appeared to be in “pretty good condition”.
On Monday, members of the maritime service apprehended a total of 292 Haitian migrants attempting to land illegally in The Bahamas in two separate incidents. The Defence Force said both arrests were made in the area of Highbourne Cay in the Exumas.
Further, during the early morning hours yesterday, police, immigration and Defence Force officials responded to a Haitian vessel landing in the East End Point area of New Providence and the multi-unit effort managed to net 41 Haitian migrants, authorities said.
Lieutenant Darren Henfield said the resources of the force were stretched, but officers remained committed to fighting the influx.
“Our resources as everybody knows is limited, but we do the best that we can with what we have,” Mr. Henfield said.
“You can find yourself in the most optimal position with all kinds of resources and still find challenges in responding to the migrant issue and other issues at sea-We like to do the best that we can with whatever resources are available to us.”
The government, according to immigration officials, spent more than $100,000 on repatriation exercises last month, but that figure is expected to double in February.
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
