On the PLP govt immigration policy

Wed, Feb 11th 2015, 09:34 AM

Dear Editor,

The announcement of the government's new immigration policy appeals to certain emotions and foments a resentment of foreign nationals. In reviewing aspects of the policy, it appears, in what has become a troubling pattern, that the government is prepared to ignore the rule of law. Illegal migration is a critical challenge which must be responded to vigorously, effectively and humanely.

The scapegoating of illegal immigrants suggests an ulterior motive: that illegal migration is to blame for the inability of this government to grow the economy and stimulate job growth; enunciate a uniformed and cogent policy to confront the crime menace; and confront a variety of other issues. People should not be manipulated and hoodwinked by a do-nothing administration whose legacy will include spending the largest amount of money travelling to the largest number of foreign countries while lambasting foreign nationals for a host of problems.

The PLP's new immigration policy has as its primary objective to disguise and distract from the incompetence and failures of the present government. It is a strategy adopted throughout history by the most sinister of governments. It is unethical. It is below any standard that Minister of Immigration Fred Mitchell, a longtime advocate of human rights, should dare to utter.

Recent angry utterances on immigration matters suggests that some now believe that human rights mostly only apply outside of The Bahamas, and that while protesting and standing in support of the disenfranchised around the world, The Bahamas government should be permitted to trample the rights of citizens and others who find themselves in The Bahamas.

The government must report to the Bahamian public the number of illegal immigrants detained and repatriated to their country of origin since the announced implementation of the new immigration policy effective October 1, 2014. And, they should provide a comparison against the number repatriated during previous years. One must expect that after mounting such a huge campaign that the government will be able to demonstrate that its policy is actually reducing in a significant and meaningful way the number of illegal immigrants entering and remaining in our country, since this is clearly what the government wants Bahamians to believe.

Bahamians must demand to know whether the minister's bluster and the "black eye" it has earned The Bahamas internationally as a result of his bluster and belligerence, and the inconvenience being caused Bahamian citizens and legal residents as they travel to work daily, have actually resulted in an increase in the number of illegal and undocumented individuals identified, detained and repatriated from The Bahamas.

The people of The Bahamas must know the number of Bahamian citizens and legal residents who have been illegally detained by immigration officials, a violation of their rights, rights guaranteed and protected by the Bahamian constitution and by Bahamas law. The minister should also advise on the length of time such legal residents have been illegally detained by the government. I accept that the minister will never be able to provide an accounting of the thousands of Bahamian citizens, legal residents and visitors who have been inconvenienced by immigration roadblocks set up during the busy morning commute, so I will not ask that he report on this number.

The minister must report to the Bahamian public on the number of applications received at the Immigration Department for the new immigration identity card (belonger's card) required by the government's new immigration policy. He should advise as to the expected processing time for the card and report the number of cards actually issued to legal residents including work permit holders since the introduction of this new policy.

Anecdotal information suggests that legal permanent residents of The Bahamas, who made application for the new immigration card in August last year following the announcement of the new policy, were still waiting for the issuance of cards in January, 2015! Now the minister wishes to extend this requirement to the dependents of residents and work permit holders and to children born in The Bahamas to foreign parents? I am interested in knowing what new systems, technologies and staff have been added to the Department of Immigration to make the implementation of his new policy possible.

Bahamians acknowledge that our country has for more than half a century been burdened by the problem of illegal migrants who come in search of better economic opportunities or freedom from political persecution, including many in-transit to North America. Bahamians will not object to efforts by a responsible government to improve our ability to document and register legitimate residents in the country. But the registration and record keeping of legitimate residents must be done in full accordance with Bahamian law and our obligations under international conventions, particularly in this regard, with the obligations of states party to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The laws of The Bahamas do not require anyone, be they Bahamian citizen, permanent resident or work permit holder to have on their person at all times, a passport or immigration identification document. If it is the desire of the government to implement such a requirement then it must begin by legislating the requirement.

As such a requirement exists in many other jurisdictions, drafting such a law should not prove too taxing for the government. But the requirement must exist in law before it can be enforced by policy. This government behaves as if their policies, seemingly pulled from the seats of their pants, have the force of law. They do not and the government must be reminded of this at every turn.

This government's new immigration policy now expanded in a way that is likely to jeopardize access to education for many blameless children is wrong. It is as wrong and unlawful as was the decision by this government to create and staff a National Intelligence Agency without the benefit of legislation. Such unlawful actions which seek to permit unlawful spying on citizens, or which seek to excuse the periodic unlawful detention of legal residents including Bahamian citizens, offend our democracy and should not be tolerated by Bahamians.

The following should be noted with regard to the Mitchell's announced "new" immigration policy:

1. It has been the longstanding policy of successive Bahamian government's that first applications for work permits could only be made for individuals' resident outside of The Bahamas. That successive PLP governments have in the past frequently caused this policy to be waived, particularly for the benefit of their friends and associates who seek to engage illegal immigrants already in The Bahamas, does not make the policy "new" though it may be "new" to this PLP government.

2. Illegal immigrants and undocumented individuals have been routinely detained and deported from The Bahamas over the past 40 years of independence. The consistency and increase in these exercises have tended to increase when the PLP is out of office.

3. The first post-independence government did away with "belonger's" status. It was seen as an imposition by the previous colonial government, creating rights to immigration status for hundreds of expatriates in The Bahamas prior to July 10, 1973, a status to which many PLP ministers at the time took grave exception.

4. Repatriation exercises have, prior to May 7, 2012, been carried out in full compliance with the law and our obligations under international conventions which require that deported individuals, including dependent minor children deported with their parents be properly identified and documented. This assists in identifying repeat immigration offenders but also assists in determining applications for immigration status by individuals claiming to have been born in The Bahamas and repatriated to some other country with their undocumented parent during their youth.

- Kirkland Turner

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