The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SMUGGLING trends in recent years have pinpointed Bimini and Grand Bahama as hot spots for illegal migration to the United States, according to Immigration Director William Pratt yesterday.

Mr Pratt was responding to reports that two Chinese couples were arrested by Department of Immigration officers in Bimini under suspicion of being involved in a smuggling operation.

The couples went to Bimini from Nassau with Keith Loring, a 51-year-old American real estate developer and family friend, on Sunday and were held by immigration officials overnight.

Mr Loring called The Tribune yesterday to express his disgust over the way his friends were treated by officials.

“They are profiling Chinese, Jamaicans and Haitians that came off the Nassau flight or Freeport flight,” he said.

Mr Loring explained that he was vacationing in Bimini when he went to Nassau where he met up with the two couples, who were first time visitors and cousins of a close friend. He explained that his guests had given him their money, a reported $4,000, for safekeeping and arranged for dive and bonefishing tours.

“If their passport is all right, why are they holding them? Because [immigration] telling me that their visa expired tonight, which is a lie. They had two weeks. I understand you may have a problem with smuggling, but the proof is there.

“[Immigration] saying that they didn’t have cash, but they gave me cash so it wouldn’t get stolen.”

He continued: “I’m just upset [immigration officials] could have easily just held their passports, she didn’t have to put them in jail overnight. It’s wrong to do that to Chinese nationals there to have fun.”

Yesterday, Mr Pratt said he could not comment directly on the apprehension because he did not have a full report. However, he noted that his department was in the midst of mounting a serious operation in that area.

“Every now and then they arrest some,” Mr Pratt said, “if you are a tourist and you want to visit the Family Islands you should have a return ticket.

“Over the years, we have experienced smuggling trends out of Bimini, and not just Chinese nationals, but Brazilians and other South American nationals.

“Bimini and Grand Bahama are two hotspots where we’re trying to put up a serious operation to ensure that persons admitted into Nassau, that they are genuine bona fide visitors.

“We give them the benefit of the doubt, but you come in through Nassau and then you end up in Bimini, where we have a high smuggling operation, with a one-way ticket.

“We’re not going to allow it, what we normally do is tell them go back to Nassau.”

According to statistics, the Department of Immigration arrested 7,357 persons in 2016. Of that figure, 6,869 persons were deported and 488 foreign nationals were released.

In 2015, 4,957 persons were arrested, 3,730 were repatriated and 571 were released.

Among foreign nationals released were persons who owed work permit fees.

Repatriations of Chinese nationals increased by 16 per cent in 2016 with just 10 more persons repatriated over 2015’s total of 63.

Haitian nationals remain the highest number of repatriations with 5,241 for 2016. The figure represents a 65 per cent increase over 2015’s total of 3,183.