IMMIGRATION Minister Fred Mitchell announced that the Immigration Amendment Act and its regulations came into force yesterday.
Mr Mitchell released a statement saying this “will strengthen the hand of the Department of Immigration as it seeks to stem the tide of unlawful migration in The Bahamas.”
He added that the act will, among other things, provide for stiffer penalties for illegal landing, for harbouring illegal migrants and for making attempts to leave this country to be smuggled into another country. The amendment also makes it an offence to enter into a fraudulent marriage and will strengthen the powers of arrest of immigration officers.
“It creates for the first time an immigration reserve, patterned after the police reserves,” Mr Mitchell said. “It will be established in the next fiscal year and in the first instance in islands that have, at present, no immigration presence. An announcement will be made shortly on when recruitment can be expected for the reserve.
“The act also creates an immigration status known as a Belonger’s permit to be issued to those who are born in the Bahamas to non-Bahamian parents and who are lawfully in The Bahamas. The fee for this is $125.”
He added that everyone who lives and works in the country should have proof that they are here legally.
“This includes non-national students,” Mr Mitchell said. “It includes those children born of non-national parents in The Bahamas.”
Comments
DonAnthony 9 years, 6 months ago
The government should be congratulated in general and minister Mitchell in particular for enacting this legislation to assist with our long intractable problem of illegal immigration. The FNM failed to act meanifully but the present govt finally has. Also the grand Bahama human rights association in general and Mr. Fred Smith in particular thanked for his advocation of rights for the disenfranchised and for holding the govt feet to the fire. He said legislation was necessary and he was right, we are better for the bitter, angry debate on immigration. Especially with the creation of the belonger's permit the govt has the tools to finally deal with this vexing immigration problem in a fair and humane way. I pray that with all the necessary elements in place the govt will swiftly and purposefully move forward to regularize those that are eligible, this means processing people in a fair and timely manner, and deporting those that are illegally in this country just as swiftly.
TruthHurts 9 years, 6 months ago
Looks like Mitchell is the only one actually doing some work in his office these days!
duppyVAT 9 years, 6 months ago
How can a belongers permit solve the problem of Haitian, Jamaican, Dominican, Filipino or Cuban children born in The Bahamas to illegal unwed female immigrants??????? That is the major problem we face today ...... and that cannot be solved with Mitchell's belongers permit that clearly is not intended to be given to this population category (c. 20,000).
TheMadHatter 9 years, 6 months ago
It DOES by saying they don't have a belongers permit and so they don't belong.
DEDDIE 9 years, 6 months ago
Here we go again. A dumb law got us in the problem and now a dumber law to get us out. We will be better off without lawyers. Their answer for everything is write a law except a law that exposes what they are doing( Freedom of Information Act).
TheMadHatter 9 years, 6 months ago
It is unfortunate that this new law does NOT impose penalties for those that hire illegals. Mr. Mitchell said he would bring such a bill to the House, and he clearly has not. The law refers to harbouring - but does it delineate employment as a method of harbouring?
This has been the problem all along. People can hire illegals and it is only the illegal who has to fear.
TheMadHatter
ohdrap4 9 years, 6 months ago
there are fines in the law books for those who hire illegal immigrants. i have never read any news stories about anyone being charged with this offence.
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