More than 100 Haitian immigrants were apprehended yesterday morning in South Eleuthera, Superintendent Chris Wright reported. Wright said the immigrants - 26 women and 89 men - were sighted by a fisherman.
"We located them in the back of Bannerman Town," Wright said. "A local fisherman sighted the vessel and called the police. We were assisted by several fisherman from that area. We boarded the boat and towed it in. They were transported to Governor's Harbour."
He said the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) will pick the Haitians up and transport them to New Providence where they will be handed over to immigration officials for processing and deportation. Wright thanked the local community for assisting in the apprehension. He said Eleuthera is a popular landing spot for immigrants.
"This is the sixth one for the year," he said. "Well get regular patrols but what we experience during times like this is when we have a lot of inclement weather they (the immigrants) think this is their best chance to come in undetected when perhaps our boats can not get out there. They put themselves in more danger when the weather is extremely bad."
The latest apprehension came a day after Minister of Immigration and Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell revealed that around 4,000 immigrants have been repatriated so far this year. Mitchell said the illegal migration issue has, in some cases, "surpassed the drug trade as a legal and security problem".
"Last year, we repatriated nearly 5,000 migrants to their home countries, So far this year, the number is close to 4,000. Most of them are from Haiti," Mitchell said as he addressed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.
As he highlighted the country's immigration problems, Mitchell noted that The Bahamas is a "receiving country" for irregular immigrants. He said the problem has grown over the years." He added that the problem threatens to destabilize the country.
"The issue of unlawful migration has now in some cases surpassed the drug trade as a legal and security problem," Mitchell said. "Tied up with the smuggling of people, is the smuggling of drugs and trafficking in persons."
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