The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Frederick Mitchell, and Queen’s Counsel Frederick Smith have been on opposing sides of debates regarding the “new” immigration policies. I have been trying to follow the arguments for and against as closely as possible, and have some straight forward advice for each of them:

Minister Fred Mitchell - allow private organisations willing to assist in addressing the backlog of pending applications at the Department of Immigration, to do so.

Consult with relevant civic organisations on drafting regulations and legal framework for the detention centre(s) before presenting it to Parliament to be tabled and passed into law.

QC Fred Smith - acknowledge the implications of using words like “terrorism”, “Auschwitz” and “concentration camps” in relation to immigration. Consider pushing alternative voices from the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association to the media forefront on the subject. In your capacity as a lawyer, take legal action regarding the numerous claims of illegal activity you have made against the Department of Immigration.

TERNEILLE BURROWS

Nassau,

February 7, 2015.