The Tribune

THE Democratic National Alliance has been chastised for supporting the government’s new immigration policy as a prominent human rights advocate said yesterday the fledgling party is condoning regressive and dictatorial actions.

Fred Smith, president of the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA), said anyone who supports the “illegal, immoral and unconstitutional” tactics being used by Immigration officers, including midnight raids and home invasions that terrorise communities, cannot also claim to represent progressive and enlightened ideas.

“The DNA styles itself as the party of the future,” Mr Smith said. “In fact, with its support of the government’s Gestapo-like tactics when it comes to immigration enforcement, they are helping resurrect all the most vicious elements of the barbaric past – victimisation, racism, tribalism, xenophobia, fear-mongering and discrimination.

“This young party claims it wants to do away with politics as usual in the Bahamas. Actually, its actions tell another story; a story about how to whip up the worst prejudices in a society in order to increase your support base. It is a story as old as time – the PLP and FNM know all about it.”

Mr Smith, one of the most prominent legal practitioners in the Bahamas, said he is particularly surprised at the attitude of DNA leader Branville McCartney, a fellow attorney, who he said should know better.

“The fact of the matter is, however one might feel about the problem of illegal immigration and its impact on the Bahamas, the government’s new policy directly violates our constitution, the supreme law of the land,” he said. “As such the policy is illegal – end of story. I would expect support for this argument from any officer of the court who is worth his salt.

“As Mr McCartney will be fully aware, the preamble of the Constitution states emphatically that the preservation of freedom must be guaranteed by an abiding respect for Christian values and the rule of law. The GBHRA calls on the DNA to cease and desist from claiming it presents the Bahamian public with a real alternative to politics as usual – either that, or begin to back up these words with appropriate actions.”

Earlier this month, Mr McCartney, a former State Minister for Immigration, commended the government for “finally taking seriously its responsibility to protect our borders” by clamping down on illegal migration and imposing new immigration restrictions.

Mr Smith said: “All across the world, enlightened societies with serious illegal immigration problems have crafted more sensible, legal, fair and efficient policies. We can learn from these models, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

“And if McCartney and his colleagues really care about the plight of ordinary Bahamians, as they so often say, they should keep this in mind: the government’s new draconian policy could push this country down a very slippery slope. Today the victims may be Haitian-Bahamians, tomorrow they could be any of us. The misuse of power, once legitimised, will always spread throughout a society.

“Already, they are talking about everyone in the Bahamas having to carry a certificate of identification to prove their entitlement to be here and prove they’re not subject to being rounded up and carted off to a detention centre. Soon enough, we will begin to see more and more illegal roadblocks, more indiscriminate home invasions, including for reasons other than illegal immigration.

“Even as I speak, the government is flirting with the idea of Bahamians having to have a certificate from the Value-Added Tax (VAT) authority before they can travel out of the country. Will there be checkpoints at the airports and harbours where they‘ll pull your tax records up on a screen before letting you travel?

“The DNA should be joining its voice to those of the GBHRA and the rest of the human rights community to call for an end of this dangerous trend, rather than helping the government legitimate it.”