While the world is witnessing a terrible humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, Bahamians mutter on about our immigration woes with our neighbor to the south, Haiti. It is an all too familiar tale where violence, political persecution and economic destitution lead to no other option but to flee and hope for a better life somewhere else. Undeniably, too little positive meaningful consequence is invested in nations that incur such destabilization.

The Bahamas takes a reactionary approach to illegal immigration, particularly in the case of Haitians. We continue to invest millions of dollars on security measures – new Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) vessels and ports, detention centers and aircraft used for repatriations. Just as other nations are building walls whether physical or digital, we are trying to shut our borders without addressing the root of the problem – in our case the economic and social conditions in Haiti.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell in his 2015/2016 budget contribution, The Bahamas repatriated 3,868 foreign nationals in 2014 and 1,528 from January to April 2015. Repatriations are costly. The Bahamian taxpayer has paid nearly $1.5 million for air transportation so far this year. The International Organization for Migration estimates that between 20,000 and 50,000 undocumented Haitians are living in The Bahamas.

Moreover, while The Bahamas closes its southern border it may be prudent to look at the loss of our human capital to the United States and other developed nations. In 2014, the Inter-American Development Bank released a report, “Is there a Caribbean Sclerosis?” The report noted that The Bahamas loses 61 percent of tertiary degree holders representing nearly 4.4 percent of our GDP.

Could it be that some Bahamians find political repression, economic stagnation and near criminal warfare as reasons to stay abroad? Absolutely. It is indeed a sad irony that our brightest Bahamians choose to stay away for many of the same reasons that others seek refuge here.

Migration is not static. It is a complex web of entry and exit in an effort to find a place where life is worth living for.

The Bahamas has an opportunity to open its mind for more diverse immigration policies. Incentives exist for foreign home ownership, but without the right to work. Why not extend invitations for permanent residency with the right to work to foreign professionals such as doctors, professors, teachers, engineers? We need to allow more flexibility for skilled people who wish to invest more than just money in the country.

Despite political assurances that anti-foreign rhetoric has no long-term implications, permanent residents, foreign spouses and investors are listening and watching immigration activities closely. Political diatribes on foreign persons only entrench false prejudices that stymie our success in the international marketplace.

We are tired of the negative rhetoric on immigrants. Immigrants make substantial positive contributions to country economies. In the United States, according to the Kauffman Foundation, an estimated 40 percent of start-ups in the Silicon Valley between 2006 and 2012 had at least one founder of a foreign nationality. This follows data that immigrants founded just under a third of new businesses in the United States during 2011, according to Partnership for a New American Economy.

What is The Bahamas so afraid of? Perhaps, it’s the realization by Bahamians that our government has failed to educate the next generation to compete in the global marketplace. Success cannot be had by simply showing up to receive a certificate of completion; success means hard work.

Maintaining the Pindling era legacy of Bahamian entitlement is not wise for our future prosperity. The Bahamas cannot expect to compete in the so-called flat world if it insulates its culture from change. The Bahamas must embrace the diversity in its own population and recognize that its strength comes not from a singular heritage, but the collective belief in its constitution.