Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Fred Mitchell warned party supporters during a PLP meeting last week not to be distracted by the "narrative" of some political protestors that The Bahamas is experiencing an immigration crisis.

"There's this narrative and we have to be careful how we adopt this narrative and it's based on what I think is a false premise," Mitchell said during the party's National Central Council meeting last Wednesday.

"...You have this man and his partner, and I call them the bobsey twits, who are out there whipping up hysteria in the population about some people who are supposedly taking over our country.

"I assure you that there is a crisis in Haiti. There is no crisis in Nassau. So, the institutions are functioning and fully functioning.

"Last year, the immigration minister repatriated 4,700 irregular migrants from Haiti, a record. That is continuing. So, when people come to you and say, 'The government needs to do...

"What more do you want us to do? What do you want us to do?"

Mitchell was referring to Coalition of Independents Leader Lincoln Bain who has held protests and demonstrations outside Parliament in recent months. He has accused the Davis administration of being soft on immigration and failing to act.

Mitchell did not refer to Bain by name, but it was clear who he was talking about.

Since the assassination of Haiti's president in 2021, the country has descended into chaos. Thousands take to the sea in unsafe boats, looking for a better life in the United States. Many end up in Bahamian waters.

Earlier this year, a boat with nearly 400 migrants was intercepted in The Bahamas' territory.

The crisis in Haiti was a major issue discussed by leaders during the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas two weeks ago. Bain, who attempted to lead a demonstration outside Baha Mar ahead of the meeting, was arrested and later charged.

Mitchell told supporters to be careful who they listen to.

"We have to be careful about adopting the rhetoric of the other side because they don't believe it either," he said.

"All they are trying to do is to get to government and then when they get to government, there's a different reality that sets in. So, we are the government and our job is to maintain peace and good order and that's what the Progressive Liberal Party is doing under Philip Brave Davis."

Prime Minister Davis delivered a national address on immigration last week.

He put residents living in shantytowns across The Bahamas on notice that they will be required to find alternative housing and said his administration intends to hold accountable the "network of people" who make these shantytowns possible, though he gave no timeline on when the action will happen.

On February 10, Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson ruled that the government's shantytowns eradication policy and its actions in seeking to execute it were legal.

The legal challenge was brought by a group of shantytown residents after the Minnis administration took action aimed at getting rid of the communities in 2018.

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