The Tribune

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis set a hard line in his national address on the issue of migration.

After the recent lifting of an injunction by the Supreme Court preventing the demolition of shanty towns, his national address laid out what he is calling “Operation Secure”.

This is an operation involving the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Department of Immigration.

First of all, let’s look at a few of the major points.

The security operation will seek to identify the status of people living in communities described as “unlawful”.

That will include migrants whether they have documentation or not, as well as Bahamians living there.

We know from previous surveys conducted by the government in shanty towns that around 80 percent of people living there had a right to be in The Bahamas – whether because they are Bahamian or through some form of documentation, be it work permit, spousal permit, and so on.

Those leasing or occupying government-owned Crown land and providing unlawful accommodation will be held criminally liable under the plan – and face having government permission to occupy revoked.

Anyone detained during this operation will be held at a detention centre that will be constructed in Inagua. Note the future tense there, will be – which either suggests a rapid construction or perhaps the timeline for this operation.

There will also be extra recruitment for both Immigration and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, as well as new ships for the RBDF fleet.

For migrants without documentation, they will be charged at court and, if found guilty, deported.

Migrants with documentation living in “unlawful” communities who are found to be in breach of their work permits will be required to relocate “at their employer’s expense” or face having their permit revoked and be deported.

Bahamians in such communities will be “required to relocate”.

There are obviously many questions to be asked about this new plan. For example, what access to legal representation will there be for detainees in Inagua. We have seen in the past cases where people with a right to be in this country have been detained unlawfully – and a repetition of any such miscarriages of justice should be unwelcome for us all. Access to legal advice to avoid such a situation should be crucial.

The liability for employers to pay for the relocation of work permit holders is also an area likely to cause some debate – including to what extent employers can or cannot dictate where their staff members reside.

Some of this policy will take effect in the short-term, some in the long-term. Ships don’t get built overnight. A detention centre doesn’t get built overnight. Recruits for Immigration and the Defence Force need time to be trained.

There is a price tag to go with this too – although Financial Secretary Simon Wilson is sounding a warning bell that migration could “throw our Budget off completely” because of the costs involved.

Mr Wilson said every 100 migrants has a cost of an extra $500,000 in costs. However, even on those figures, the 4,748 migrants repatriated last year to both Haiti and Cuba would have cost $23.5m. We would, of course, rather have that money to invest elsewhere, but it is hard to see that throwing the Budget off completely unless zero cost was expected with regard to migration. Some cost was always going to be incurred, as is the case around the world.

The government has also said it is resisting calls by the United Nations to stop repatriation flights, so the cost of the flights seems something of a distraction.

Then there are other questions – such as for those who have a legal right to be in this country whether there is enough accommodation for them to be housed.

The address marks a significant shift overall in the stance of the government – but there are parts of the bigger picture that remain to be filled in.

If we sweep away every shanty town building, where do those people live? If 80 percent of those people have a right to be in The Bahamas, is there adequate housing for them?

When we talk of there being no easy solution to migration issues, it is because these questions are wrapped up in the heart of it – and that’s before we even get to preventing further arrivals.

Do we want unsafe shanty towns? Not at all. Do we have an alternative in place? There lies the challenge.