A Bahamian citizen and his family were wrongly imprisoned by immigration officials and are about to be deported to Haiti if the government does not intervene, it was claimed Tuesday.
The family were reportedly arrested during a raid in the Fox Hill Road area in the early hours of Monday morning.
A source told The Tribune that a Mr William Negular, his wife and children were asleep in their beds on Monday between the hours of l:00am and 2:00am when they heard a knock at the door.
The persons then identified themselves as immigration officers and Mr Negular and his entire family were arrested and taken to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, where they will await deportation to Haiti.
According to the source, it was alleged that the arrest and detention of Mr Negular and his family were unlawful, because Mr Negular is a Bahamian citizen, having been born in the Bahamas before 1973.
According to Article 3 of the Constitution of the Bahamas: “Every person who having been born in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands, is on 9 July, 1973, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies shall become a citizen of the Bahamas on 10 July, 1973.”
If it is established that Mr Negular is in fact a Bahamian citizen under the Constitution, it is understood that he might seek legal advise as to what action he can take for false imprisonment and detention.
Last month, lawyer Fred Smith and the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association called on Immigration Minister Shane Gibson to discontinue what was described as “over zealous” apprehensions by immigration officers.
Mr Smith, GBHRA’s president, had filed a claim on behalf of a Mr Lewis Alman, alleging that on June 23 of this year, his client was unlawfully arrested and detained by immigration officials.
The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court against Minister Gibson, the Director of Immigration and the Attorney General. Mr Alman is claiming damages for false imprisonment, unlawful detention, discrimination and breach of his constitutional rights.
When defending his client’s position to the press, Mr Smith said: “His position is no different from mine. I was born in Haiti. My father was a Bahamian, but I did not have to file for any papers. I simply became a Bahamian when the constitution came into effect in 1973.”
Mr Smith told the press that his client was entitled to Bahamian citizenship by virtue of the constitution and that his client’s citizenship status was not a matter of discretion on the part of the immigration authorities.”
The source told The Tribune that the Negular family has been incarcerated at the detention centre since Monday morning and they have yet to be released, although Mr Negular has pleaded his case to the authorities.
The Tribune attempted to reach Mr Gibson for a response. However, he did not return the call up to press time.
Mr Negular was detained with his wife, his four-year-old son and four-month-old daughter.
By ALEXANDRIO MORLEY, The Tribune
