The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE recent repatriation of more than 40 Cuban nationals has cost the government nearly $20,000, with the director of immigration highlighting an "unprecedented" increase in the wave of Cuban migrants illegally entering the Bahamas. 

William Pratt, Immigration Director, said 43 Cuban nationals were sent to Havana, Cuba, by Bahamasair charter on Thursday, accompanied by "six security officers", at a cost of $18,000 for the flight alone. Mr Pratt said that figure did not include the officers' hotel accommodations and per diem allowances. 

Nonetheless, Mr Pratt said the Government is planning to send out "another 40 to 60" Cubans next Friday. 

"This is unprecedented," Mr Pratt said. "They are constantly coming."

Mr Pratt attributed the "upswing" in illegal Cuban migration to them seeking to reach the United States before that country does away with its "wet-foot, dry-foot policy", a unique policy that favours Cuban migrants.  

According to international reports, Cubans fear that the policy, which essentially allows any Cuban who makes it to US soil to stay and apply for legal permanent resident status and US citizenship, may be eliminated due to the improved relations between the US and Cuba. 

Mr Pratt said on Friday that he met the vice counsel from the US Embassy last week and stressed that whatever the Americans could do to have the policy erased "would be a great help to the Bahamas".

"He indicated to me by email that it is a legislative policy, which means that it would have to go through Congress and the Senate in order to be changed, so definitely he said it would not happen until maybe after their general elections in November," Mr Pratt added.   

Nonetheless, Mr Pratt said the illegal immigration problem is putting a "strain" on the country's resources.

"It's putting strain in that the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) provides security ... and the Cubans, those migrants who will try to escape ... so additional manpower must be put in place to provide that protection," he said. "Of course with additional migrants comes expense of feeding, hospital, health checking, all of that. So it can be very costly. 

"Our job at the department is to try and move them out as quickly as we possibly can," he added, "because we just had a charter flight to Port Au Prince yesterday as well, with 142. And we're having another flight to Port Au Prince with another 142 next week. So it's an ongoing process. It's like there's no end."

In July, 54 Cuban migrants were taken into custody by Immigration officials in Grand Bahama in three separate incidents over three days in one week. 

On July 3, 13 migrants -10 men and three women - were discovered at Old Bahama Bay, West End. The group reportedly left their homeland on May 29 in hopes of reaching Florida, but instead landed at West End, 55 miles short of the Florida coast. 

A second group of 34 migrants was sent to Grand Bahama on July 4 after they were intercepted at sea by the US Coast Guard in the Cay Sal Bank area in four separate incidents. The US Cutter Robert Yared arrived at Freeport Harbour around noon with 32 men and two women, who were discovered onboard rustic vessels that were reportedly headed to Florida. 

Later last month, 14 Cuban migrants were turned over to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre in New Providence after being apprehended by RBDF officials. 

According to reports, the RBDF's patrol craft P-128 intercepted a 20ft makeshift motor vessel two nautical miles east of Highbourne Cay in Exuma Sound. The 14 undocumented Cuban men were taken aboard the Defence Force vessel and transported to Coral Harbour base, where they were handed over to immigration officials for further processing.