The Ingraham administration has met 10 of the 13 pledges it made in its 2007 Manifesto on immigration and is working on completing the others, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Immigration Brent Symonette said yesterday.
In its nearly five-year term, the government granted citizenship to about 2,600 people; reduced the number of work permits granted to foreign workers; recruited and deployed more immigration officers and introduced tamper proof work permits.
However, repatriation of illegal immigrants dipped in 2010 when the government temporarily suspended apprehension and repatriation exercises of illegal Haitian nationals found in the country after the earthquake in Haiti.
Not long after assuming office, the Free National Movement (FNM) began tackling its first promise for immigration reform: to articulate and implement a medium to long-term immigration policy providing for timely, transparent and expeditious application processes; the regularization of the status of long-time residents and the registration of children born abroad to married Bahamian women.
The process started in the summer of 2007 with an audit of applications outstanding before April 30 of that year.
Officials weeded through a backlog of applications for citizenship, permanent residency and spousal permits that in some cases stretched back decades.
Many of the people whose applications were assessed in the audit were born in The Bahamas and had a right to apply for citizenship. Others had lived in the country for years or were born outside The Bahamas to Bahamian mothers.
Officials at the time said those who were assessed during the audit were not automatically entitled to legal status in the country but had a right to know if they would be approved or denied.
"We hope that persons realize that we are serious about the national sovereignty and security of our country [and] that those who are entitled to be here, we would like to deal with them so that they are not angry; that they are not feeling displaced and those that are not entitled to be here, we can make sure that they are not here," said Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest, who then had responsibility for immigration in 2007.
From May 2, 2007 to December 31, 2011, the government approved 2,590 applications for citizenship. The government also approved 1,710 permanent residence permits; 2,020 spousal permits and 12,678 permits to reside during the same time period.
The process was in keeping with the FNM's stated immigration policies.
"We've been regularizing persons who have been in The Bahamas all their lives, born in The Bahamas who never had status," Symonette said yesterday.
The government was roundly criticized for citizenship grants by some who saw the move as politically motivated.
The FNM's second Manifesto promise was to ensure that its immigration policies reflect the priorities and needs of the people and economy.
Symonette said this pledge was accomplished with the decrease in work permits issued last year.
The government issued 8,116 work permits in 2009; 9,390 in 2010 and 7,091 in 2011.
"That's been achieved, which shows we're trying to make sure that [foreigners who] apply don't get work permits [if] Bahamians qualify," Symonette said.
After the January 12, 2010 earthquake, the government temporarily stopped apprehension and repatriation exercises of illegal Haitian nationals found in the country.
The Department of Immigration also issued permits to reside to 102 Haitians who were detained at the Detention Centre on Carmichael Road at the time of the earthquake.
In 2010, the department recorded its lowest number of repatriations in the past five years: 1,562.
Statistics reveal that 2,392 Haitians were repatriated in 2011; 4,931 in 2009; 6,029 in 2008; 6,063 in 2007 and 6,028 in 2005.
Symonette said the FNM government has also introduced minimum processing times for applicants with no family ties to The Bahamas, in keeping with one of its pledges, and is processing spousal and work permits more efficiently.
"We're working on 21 days for those persons who have high net worth. We've also been able to reduce from about 12 to 15 years [processing time for] spousal permits to five years. We're very successful and we're turning around work permits a lot quicker too," he said.
Over the past three years, the government has recruited and deployed about 85 new immigration officers.
"We're also working to amalgamate Customs and Immigration officers on Family Islands so there's no duplication of work and the need for double officers," Symonette said.
The government has also created a 24-hour immigration hotline for tips on illegal immigration.
According to Symonette, a few things are still left undone on the FNM's 2007 list: To reorganize and bring order to the department; provide for timely processing of applications for expatriate skilled labor or technical expertise not available in the country; and the routine observance of established and published immigration rules.
He said the government has made strides in reorganizing the Department of Immigration but still has to computerize the Nassau office and move operations in Freeport and Abaco into new buildings.
Symonette told The Nassau Guardian that he hopes the next government will also address other areas of immigration reform.
"I think we have to look at the whole question of citizenship, permanent residency, who can apply, how you apply [and] what qualifications you need; just generally revising the rules," he said.
"I think we also need to look at the whole question of the issues that were raised in the [2002] referendum."

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