The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN Affairs officials will examine the evidence of fraudulent immigration papers produced in the case of a woman who was jailed for using her Bahamas nursing home in a human smuggling operation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said yesterday the report was brought to his attention concerning Irene Burrows’ conviction on Friday and subsequent three year sentence for smuggling migrants to the United States for private financial gain.

He said: “I intend to ask our consulate to get a hold of the evidence in that case to find out what immigration documents they are talking about.

“It doesn’t necessarily follow, in my view, that the documents were obtained from immigration. It may be just somebody came up with clever forgeries which is part of the reason why, in so many things, that we’re trying to ensure that our documents are more secure.”

Burrows, a 66-year-old Grand Bahamian, was jailed for three years in the US after confessing to using her care facility, ‘Burrows’ Home for the Aged’, to house Brazilian immigrants, some of whom she helped with obtaining fraudulent Bahamian immigration documents, and to accepting payment for the lodging and transportation as set out in the smuggling scheme.

Asked if Bahamians getting arrested abroad was a concern for the government, Mr Mitchell said: “It is a concern if Bahamians are involved in smuggling. 
It jeopardises our good relations with our neighbours. But you know, these things are driven by money and obviously there’s a lot of profit to be made,” he said.

“So largely what we’re involved in here on this end is public education of these things.

“We for example, have a concern of the smuggling and drugs, its being used by people. And Bahamasair is always being pulled over by the American authorities and searched and people are being embarrassed and dogs are being brought out and passengers are frightened on the Bahamasair plane because this is happening.

“But it’s only happening because it’s driven by individuals who are greedy and doing this stuff. So a couple of things we have to do, one is we have to be sure that we are doing the necessary policing.

“And secondly on the public education end, we have to tell people that they’re doing great harm to our country and this is something they ought to stop.”