The further we get from November 1, 2014 the more haphazard and ad hoc the government's new immigration policy appears to be.

At first, it seemed the aim was to cause every person in The Bahamas to hold a passport, thereby ensuring that all who reside in this country have the means to live a normal life - open a bank account, pay National Insurance, qualify for a loan, etc. Soon, however, the focus shifted to the detention of suspected illegal immigrants, followed by their swift deportation.
It is obvious that the two priorities clash: Insisting that people be documented for their own benefit, only to remove them before they have a meaningful chance to acquire the relevant documents, is the definition of a contradictory stance.

No clarification was forthcoming, and the conversation soon shifted to school children. Last month, Minister of Immigration Fred Mitchell announced that all students would need a passport or "student permit to be in The Bahamas", beginning September 2015. It was and remains unclear whether this move was intended to bar the children of suspected illegal immigrants, including those who were born here and have a right to apply for citizenship, from school.

A myriad of opinions were presented on both sides of the argument, with Prime Minister Perry Christie finally stating that the government will not prevent any child from attending class. The nation's leader and the minister of immigration seemed to be at odds, and government appeared to be making up the policy as it went along.

The latest development though, is commendable. On Wednesday, Minister Mitchell brought legislation to Parliament to amend the Immigration Act and create the belonger's permit. This document is intended to cover non-Bahamians who are constitutionally entitled to apply for citizenship at the age of 18, thereby ensuring that they cannot be labeled undocumented or stateless.

Many of the questions that have surrounded this policy since its inception arose due to the lack of a clear legal framework outlining aims and methods. Therefore, the tabling of the bill was a step in the right direction. It is only a first step however. The government must follow suit and clarify other aspects of the policy, particularly with regard to the impact on school-age children who were previously mandated to hold a student permit.

Presumably, many of these children would also qualify for a belonger's permit. Having been born in The Bahamas to foreign parents, they enjoy a consequent right to apply for citizenship.

Does this new bill mean that the student permit has been scrapped? Will these children require both permits in order to attend class come September? How does either permit square with the prime minister's pledge not to bar any students from school?

The government could spare both Bahamians and foreigners who reside here a great deal of anxiety by definitively answering these questions, while encoding its entire immigration policy in law before the start of class in September.

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