By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel has confirmed that Cabinet had authorised Law Reform Commissioner Dame Anita Allen to release the proposed Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill 2018 for consultation.
The statement effectively countermands “premature” claims levied at the process by Immigration Minister Brent Symonette, who earlier this week said public consultation on the bill was started without his official review and input.
Mr Symonette, outside Cabinet on Tuesday, suggested the consultation process would be halted to give way to his department’s review and assessment.
He said immigration officials were awaiting a formal response from Dame Anita on changes they submitted.
Mr Symonette said once that process was completed, a true public consultation process would get underway.
However, in response Thursday, Mr Bethel in a statement said Dame Anita did have the go-ahead from Cabinet to begin the necessary consultation for the bill.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, the public is advised that the Cabinet of The Bahamas did, in fact, authorise Dame Anita Allen to launch and to conduct public consultations on the draft Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill,” the short statement said.
The release followed comments by Dame Anita herself, who on Wednesday told The Nassau Guardian she was authorised by Cabinet to proceed with consultation.
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill 2018 - which features expanded grounds for the refusal of citizenship under the constitution, and registration and naturalisation under the law to include terrorism, human and drug trafficking, as well as gang-related activities — has drawn commentary from both the political and civic arenas.
These issues are derived primarily from articles 7 and 9 of the constitution; but aren’t addressed therein or by later amendments.
The bill will grant individuals in both these categories — born outside of the Bahamas to a Bahamian mother and born inside the Bahamas to two non-Bahamian parents — the “right of abode” or the right to live in the Bahamas while a minor, up to the age of 18.
In the case of those children born to two non-Bahamian parents, they will be given an opportunity to apply for a resident Belonger’s permit if they are in the custody and care of a parent or guardian who has the right to live in the Bahamas.
Additionally, this classification of person will now have a right to legally live and work in the Bahamas up to the time they apply to be registered as a Bahamian citizen and while that application is being processed and/or appealed.
The new bill will also establish that these people lose their constitutional right to be registered as Bahamians after their 21st birthday.
Those whose time to apply to be registered has already expired, would be given six months from the date on the bill’s passage to apply for some form of status — naturalisation, permanent residency, etcetera — or face jail time or deportation.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
The entire process is fundamentally flawed and Anita Allen knows it. She and her elitist political cohorts are seeking to illegally do through the back door (the HOA) that which can only be legally done through the front door (a constitutional referendum). The constitutionality of the new bill being proposed would rightfully be immediately challenged and the Bahamian people, God willing, would win. The fact that Allen, Minnis, Symonette, Bethel, Nottage, McWeeney, and so many others of the elitist political class did not like the outcome of the constitutional referendum that was held on these same citizenship matters a few years ago, does not somehow convey upon them the right to now tear up our Constitution, thereby voiding the most sacred of all rights of the Bahamian people: The right for us, not our politicians, to determine who gets to become a Bahamian citizen. As for the proposed new Belonger status being proposed, that status existed at the time we became independent. Back then Belongers were given a one-time window of opportunity to accept or decline the grant of Bahamian citizenship. Re-introducing such a Belonger status would unconstitutionally enable our elected officials to determine who gets to be included in the permanent component of our society along with Bahamian citizens. Make no mistake about it, our government and its elitist political cronies, as well as the governments of Haiti and the U.S., are engaged in an all out assault on the constitutional rights of the Bahamian people as regards these immigration and citizenship matters. I can't say it enough.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
It seems Brent Symonette has been selected as the "slap down choice du jour". But Brent enjoys an enviable teflon exterior and knows that no matter how genuflecting Allen, Bethel and Minnis may do in public, they and their elitist political cohorts will bear the brunt of this fiasco. LMAO
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
word "much" missing before genuflecting in 2nd sentence
TheMadHatter 5 years, 8 months ago
None of this matters one way or another. Haitians dont need no papers in this country. Only Bahamians need 500 copies of their birth certificate and all kind of other fool things to get passports or building permits or any kind of govt document or assistance.
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
I share your frustration brother.
TheMadHatter 5 years, 8 months ago
Yep. It's all nonsense so they will be able to fool the gullable in 2022 election that they "tried" to do something about illegal immigrants. The immigrants are being funded worldwide by George Soros in order to create more slave labour for big corporations. Europeans, Canadians, American middle class blacks and whites refuse to breed slaves - so he just has them imported.
sheeprunner12 5 years, 8 months ago
Ditto .......... not a word on the NP shanty town court case ........ DOA
TheMadHatter 5 years, 8 months ago
Exactly Sheep. The real thing too is that I don't think most Bahamians know what life it going to change into once Haitians fully 100% realize that they do in fact rule. It will be a wake up call in reverse, when you go back into the nightmare.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
Remember every phone conversation, text, wats app in The Bahamas is tapped. Even these blogs. Yes! By who ? Guess! And they in your on land destroying your sovereignty and integrity whilst we fight amongst ourselves.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
So how much influence does the CIA and other Americans agencies have on the disruption of normal politics and normal social life in The Bahamas. After all they planned to kidnap a Prime Minister of this country on false drugs charges and was only stopped by another American agency for fear of the repercussions so imagine now?
Well_mudda_take_sic 5 years, 8 months ago
Why are you harkening back to the good 'ole days when Carlos Enrique Lehder Rivas was Prime Minister of the Bahamas? You seem to be going off into the deep end again. Remember: Don't skip any days if your prescription says 'take one a day'.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
My prescription says ‘those who forget the past are bound to repeat it’. What does yours say agent? Let me guess : fool them once, and when they forget fool them again, yes? And that’s why we have Minnis and KP Turnquest over taxing and killing everything Bahamian.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
Bob Marley said it best ‘your best friend can be your worst enemy, and your worst enemy your best friend ‘Let’s still pretend that we don’t know how the guns are getting into this country! She me will eat and drink with you...
John 5 years, 8 months ago
Whilst drugs flowing through the Bahamas may be the lowest levels in decades and the country still continues to be listed as a drug trafficking country, drugs flowing into the US has increased fourfold since the 1980’s. And the biggest concern is opioids which continue to claim over 70,000 lives annually. And while officials originally blamed this problem on drug dealers in China, more evidence is showing that a large part of the problem is caused by greedy pharmaceutical companies. For example one company dispensed several million opioid based pills in a town that only had 400 residents. And because of these companies along with pharmacies and doctors being involved, this has hampered Donald Trump’s plans to give the death penalty to persons found illegally distributing opioids.
Sign in to comment
OpenID