Ninety illegal migrants, the majority of whom are Haitians, were yesterday captured during a pre-dawn raid in the Fox Hill community of New Providence, officials reported.
They brought the number of detainees at The Carmichael Road Detention Centre to 342.
The group included 88 Haitians: 58 men; 12 women; and 18 children.
Two Jamaican men were also captured, according to officials.
Senior Immigration officer Peter Joseph told The Bahama Journal that Defence Force officers assisted immigration officers in the exercise.
According to Mr. Joseph, 121 immigrants were initially captured during “Operation Thunderstorm,” but 31 were released after they were processed at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
Assistant Director of Immigration William Pratt explained that the raids are an ongoing effort to reduce the high numbers of illegal migrants living and working in The Bahamas.
Mr. Pratt said the round-ups are extremely important as many Haitian sloops have slipped into the country undetected.
“Not all the Haitian boats are detected by The Royal Bahamas Defence Force because of the makeup of [our] islands,” Mr. Pratt said.
“Once the Haitians land on a particular island they transport themselves via plane or boat to the various islands and once they get into the Haitian community, it makes it more difficult to find out if they are here legally and every time we conduct raids we always pick up persons who have recently arrived.”
Businesspersons who hire illegal migrants remain a major concern, Mr. Pratt said.
“We are taking a very aggressive step to prosecute these persons, not only the employees, but the employers as well,” he said.
“So we advise persons to adhere to the policies to make sure if you are going to employ a migrant that permission is given by the Department of Immigration first.”
The government is also hoping to reduce the flow of Haitian migrants through a bilateral agreement it hopes to reach conclusion on with the new Haitian regime on.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell recently said “that [the 2003] accord still stands, and we would like, once constitutional authority is returned to Haiti, to conclude that accord, (and) to sign it.”
“The treaty has certain provisions about regulating labour flows from Haiti and the Haitian government will have certain responsibilities with regard to stopping the flow,” he said.
By: Royanne Forbes-Darville, The Bahama Journal
