Officers from The Immigra-tion Department and The Royal Bahamas Police and Defence Forces swooped down on North Eleuthera, Exuma and Ragged Island, capturing the immigrants in what was described as a “comprehensive exercise.”
Of the 387 persons rounded-up, 180 Haitians were caught in North Eleuthera and 120 in Exuma. And of the remaining 87 caught on Ragged Island, a small number were believed to be ex-uniformed officers who were posing security challenges, forcing officers from OPBAT to be dispatched to the island to restore order.
The group of 180, comprising men, women and children, arrived in New Providence on board a blue and white sightseeing and tour vessel, shortly after 3 p.m. under the escort of armed police officers.
At a press conference held at the dock in the rear of the Police Harbour Patrol, Labour and Immigration Minister Shane Gibson said raids of this nature would be carried out on all Family Islands, as the government moves to rid the country of all illegal immigrants and crack down on fraudulent work permits.
He revealed that in addition to enforcing those immigration policies on the books, new rules and regulations are going to be implemented, including a fingerprinting process.
“The fact of the matter is, unless we are able to deal with this problem now, we will have even more serious problems facing us in the future. So while we are doing this, we are also looking at putting in place additional measures to protect the borders to prevent illegal immigrants from actually entering The Bahamas,” he said.
“We are still in discussions, trying to get our Defence Force Base in Inagua. We are looking at putting up a Detention Centre in Inagua.”
Minister Gibson warned all illegal immigrants that there is no hiding place for them in The Bahamas. Additionally, he explained that the ministry would also be cracking down on those who are working outside the scope of their work permits.
“We have a lot of individuals on work permits but not working in the area for which they were approved. Those employers who are employing illegal immigrants, once we get information, every single piece of information that
we receive regarding illegal immigrants, we will follow up on it.
“It is not going to be like in the past. If you are in The Bahamas illegally, get out now because if you don’t, we will deport you and we will not allow you to get a work permit again in the near future,” Mr Gibson said.
He added that the whole question of illegal immigrants on the Family Islands in the past has been overlooked and it contributed to making the Family Islands a tempting choice to those who have no status.
“For the most part, a lot of times, individuals knew if they came to New Providence, it would be bit more difficult. In some of the Family Islands, it was just accepted and I don’t know why,” the minister said.
He explained that a number of calls he received from Exuma residents, prompted the raid on the island. He said they got tired of seeing new faces and these individuals started to build new communities.
And while it is believed that some of the persons taken into custody may have legal status, they were still transported to the capital for proper verification.
In the meantime, Minister Gibson said they would be housed at The Carmichael Road Detention Centre. It is expected that the first group would be repatriated as early as Tuesday.
By: KEVA LIGHTBOURNE, The Nassau Guardian
