The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 5,000 illegal immigrants were repatriated to their homeland in 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said Thursday, adding that the Department of Immigration is bracing for an even tougher year in 2016.

He also said efforts are underway to have the 70 Cuban detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre expelled due to security issues. He said police were called to the holding facility last week due to an “incident” with the Cuban detainees.

Mr Mitchell reported that to date some 5,398 immigrants were repatriated and 237 detainees still remain at the Detention Centre.

He also raised concerns about the increased landings of Cuban nationals on Cay Sal and other small islands near Cuba’s coast.

“We have too many in the Detention Centre and it is posing a security issue for us,” Mr Mitchell said. “Yesterday (Wednesday), there were several incidents which led to the police being called at the centre.

“We are seeking to have these people expelled immediately from the country as quickly as possible. We are trying to work with the Cuban government because the longer people stay it becomes a problem, and there is a problem between Haitians and Cuban detainees which was the source of the problem yesterday,” he explained.

Mr Mitchell commended officers and staff at the Department of Immigration for protecting the nation’s borders, despite their limited resources.

Several top ranking officials, including Immigration Director William Pratt, Assistant Director Hubert Ferguson and Kirk Neilly, officer in charge of the Enforcement Unit, were also singled out for their work.

“I want them to know that the government is proud of their efforts,” Mr Mitchell said while in Grand Bahama last week.

“This is a force of around 300 people and their responsibility is to guard the borders of the Bahamas and it is a very difficult job, and it is under resourced and people don’t appreciate the extent to which work has to done by the department.

“This has been a challenging and difficult year and I do not think that it is going to get any easier. I think that 2016 will be even tougher.”