A statement released by the Ministry of Labour and Immigration yesterday that sought to address concerns raised by members of the official opposition in and outside the House of Assembly not only failed to properly do that, but also managed to detail a Department of Immigration replete with anomalies that are concerning on a national security level.

Not only did it illustrate exactly why Prime Minister Philip Davis should remove Minister of Immigration Keith Bell, but it also demonstrates an immediate need for an in-depth investigation into the processes at the department.

The statement from the ministry was released the same day as a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister announcing that the government is going to "undertake a comprehensive review of the checks and balances regarding how immigration decisions are made, with a view to strengthening them".

The statement from the Ministry of Labour and Immigration exemplifies talking around pointed questions rather than addressing them directly.

It also demonstrates that Bell has contradicted himself in so many ways in such a short time, that public faith in him in that role can likely never be restored.

The statement noted, among many other incredible things, that Bell did not know at the time he approved an individual's work permit that that person was being held at the Carmichael Detention Centre.

"An individual was reportedly approved for a permit while detained at the Detention Centre. We can confirm that at the time the decision was made, no information regarding the arrest or deportation was on file or in the system," the ministry said.

"Consequently, the minister granted the approval without any contradictory information that might have otherwise affected the decision."

That whoever wrote those words lacked the basic self-awareness to understand how incredibly bad that makes Bell and the entire department look is unfortunate.

To be clear, what our Ministry of Immigration told the world yesterday is that it cannot properly track who is admitted to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

To our knowledge, only the Department of Immigration admits people to the Detention Centre.

If the Department of Immigration does not know who it is detaining, who does?

The ministry also addressed a case raised by Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard regarding a work permit that had expired, which led to an arrest and detention.

"We want to clarify that the arrest and detention report was uploaded on the same day the renewal application was enrolled," the ministry said, demonstrating that there is at least some capacity to see who is admitted to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre on certain days.

The renewal was approved, according to the ministry, and the outstanding work permit fees were waived.

"Factors which were taken into consideration included the individual's long-term residence in The Bahamas, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lack of salary during the period of the pandemic," the ministry said.

Firstly, it is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee, to pay immigration fees.

Secondly, work permit fees are statutory obligations, economic hardship notwithstanding.

If an employer cannot afford to pay a work permit fee for a foreign worker, that person does not need to continue working here.

As multiple Davis administration officials have explained, people are expected to pay their fair share.

Additionally, Bell himself claimed in the House of Assembly in April of this year, "Any employer found owing immigration will be required to pay all fees owing and may face prosecution."

That is clearly only applicable to some.

The immigration ministry's statement also addressed 65 Chinese nationals who were found at the British Colonial Hilton hotel by immigration officials in January.

Immigration officials said only three of those people produced any documentation, which shows that they overstayed expired permits.

The minister ordered the officials to stand down and release the people.

"Regarding the issue involving the Chinese nationals, we confirm that the workers were in the country legally," the ministry said.

"Their employers were in the process of applying for their work permits.

"To avoid disruption to the major ongoing construction project on which they were working, it was considered futile to detain them overnight. The issue was promptly corrected the following day."

We shall revisit this last issue another time, but that the ministry admits that it found foreigners working without work permits and released them, speaks to the level of failure at the department overseen by the minister.

We are also left to wonder: If immigration rules are not applicable to all, what is the point of having them?

The post Grave national security concerns raised by immigration 'clarification' appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

The post Grave national security concerns raised by immigration 'clarification' appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

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