Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said yesterday the Department of Immigration has been "swamped with people" seeking documents.
"This past Monday morning the Department of Immigration was swamped with people; people just all over the steps, outside the doors, through the gates and so on and so forth," said Mitchell outside the Churchill Building.
Asked whether the rush has been prompted by the recent immigration exercises, Mitchell said, "I am sure that's what the reason is. It was just like a mad house. There were just so many people."
The department was placed in the spotlight last Tuesday after Executive Director of UBS (Bahamas) Limited Emmanuel Fiaux was temporarily detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
He reportedly failed to produce documentation on the spot to prove his ability to reside and work in The Bahamas.
At the time, motorists were stopped in Bain Town and Grants Town, Fort Fincastle and near Arawak Cay.
They were questioned about their identity and some were asked to produce evidence of their immigration status.
The incident involving Fiaux has been contentious.
In a statement on Monday, UBS said it was "perturbed by what transpired".
The company noted that while its employee did not have his original work permit on him, the employee provided within 20 minutes an electronic, certified and notarized copy of his work permit.
In response, Mitchell said yesterday no formal complaint has been filed.
He said immigration officers use their discretion about accepting electronic copies of identification during a roadblock.
"I am not an immigration officer. I deal with policy issues and that is for immigration officers to make a judgment about what they accept as evidence or not [sufficient] evidence," Mitchell said.
In the last week, round-up exercises have continued across New Providence in an effort to clamp down on un-documented migrants in The Bahamas.
Mitchell said the exercises will continue throughout the year.
"And that is the only point," he said.
"The people who are supposed to be in The Bahamas should be documented to be in The Bahamas and not undocumented.
"There is a way to get documents, and if you don't have the documents then that means you don't have the right to be here, and the law follows its course."
More than 40 non-Bahamians who were in the country illegally were detained in the exercise last week because they did not have their paperwork on them, according to immigration officials.

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