The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie yesterday criticised detractors of the government’s new immigration restrictions and said the requirements are meant to “protect the paramount interests of Bahamians”.

He said the new restrictions would not “deny children a place in our educational establishments.” Rather, Mr Christie said the policy is simply to “account for people in the Bahamas”, regardless of nationality.

Mr Christie’s comments came after numerous criticisms of the new policy, which mandates that children of non-Bahamians have a student permit and a passport of their nationality to attend school.

Since the new policy was announced last month, numerous critics – local and international – have spoken out against the restrictions.

“There are people who have a genuine view on whether or not you’re taking the right course of action, but the government has to make a decision, and governments have to make decisions that protect the paramount interests of Bahamians,” Mr Christie said after a school renaming ceremony in Spanish Wells. “What our detractors must know, on a weekly basis we are giving consideration to citizenship applications . . .and we are granting citizenship on a continual basis to people who are subjected to the same standards we are indicating there.

“We’re saying that we have to account for people in the Bahamas. Period. Full stop. Whether they’re Jamaicans, whether they’re Haitians (or) whether they’re Irish. We have to account for those who have come here through irregular circumstances, who are therefore not registered in our country. And in doing that, we are better able to give it to those who are entitled to citizenship in a quicker fashion than anything else.”

He added: “For our purposes we believe in the final analysis that we’re doing the right thing and that as I indicated before, no government that is a Progressive Liberal Party government would meet a family who cannot afford to meet whatever the requirement is, and the child cannot go to school. That won’t happen in The Bahamas. We’re not going to deny children a place in our educational establishments.”

Last month, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell announced that children of non-Bahamians must have a student permit for the fall semester. The requirement is part of a broader immigration policy that came into effect on November 1.

That policy, among other things, requires every person in The Bahamas to have a passport of their nationality with proof to legally reside and work in this country.

Some have said the policy unfairly targets Haitians.

Human rights activists Fred Smith and Joseph Darville, as well as former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, have all criticised the student permit restriction, arguing that it would make it harder for thousands of children in the country to get an education.

Amnesty International (AI) Caribbean Campaigner Robin Guittard has also expressed concern, saying the mandate “could violate the Bahamas’ international obligations”.

The student restrictions were also highlighted as a “tough” policy in the Saturday edition of The New York Times.

On Monday, Marco City MP Greg Moss criticised the government’s new immigration policy, arguing that persons of Haitian descent who he called “undocumented Bahamians” may be deported under the restrictions.

After having previously stressed that the restrictions were in accordance with the Immigration Act and a part of the Christie administration’s wider policies, Mr Mitchell said earlier this week that he was confident the government enjoys the support of most Bahamians on the matter.

The annual school permit costs $25 with a $100 processing fee.