The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHILE warning that Inagua is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis with a recent influx of Haitian migrants, Human Rights Bahamas is urging the government to revisit the draft Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill insisting it could help in navigating this issue.

Although circulated for consultation, the draft bill was never debated or passed and HRB believes it could be a key part in effectively managing all the issues surrounding undocumented migration in a manner that better conforms with the rights and protections outlined in the Constitution.

The statement from the group comes as more than 900 Haitians were apprehended over the last several days.

A Royal Bahamas Defence Force spokesperson told The Tribune yesterday that mostly women and children from the first group of 500 that were apprehended and taken to Inagua were processed by magistrates that were flown into the island today.

The latter group of about 400, in addition to a few minors, remain at Inagua, The Tribune was told.

Yesterday, HRB appealed to the new government to handle the situation the right way, noting it was also of the view that criminalising migrants needed to be reviewed.

“The sudden influx of Haitian migrants into the southern Bahamas is hugely challenging for a new administration that is just finding its feet,” according to the statement. “However, we have confidence in the new Minister of Immigration (Keith Bell) and believe he is more than capable of dealing with this crisis in a humane and compassionate way.

“It is crucial that in navigating this difficult situation, the government ensures that the fundamental rights and protections enshrined in the Bahamas Constitution are upheld for each and every migrant.

“Human Rights Bahamas also notes that the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Fred Mitchell) is questioning the previous government’s position that migrants should be taken before a court, tried and convicted of a crime before being deported.

“HRB agrees and supports Minister Mitchell’s view that The Bahamas should not criminalise migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, children and persons born in The Bahamas and returning after having been unconstitutionally expelled by past PLP and FNM administrations. Criminalising migrants is unnecessarily punitive, harsh, degrading and dehumanising. With climate change being a greater threat to our low-lying archipelago and very existence as a nation, ‘There but for the Grace of God’ go We Bahamians.”

Before the policy change, the government had faced intense pressure from immigration activists over longstanding practices such as deporting detained people without giving them a chance to be heard in court.

In March 2018, then Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, as acting minister of immigration, said he sent a magistrate to Inagua to oversee legal proceedings against 230 apprehended migrants.

The move was praised by human rights attorney Fred Smith, QC, at the time, who applauded the Minnis administration for facilitating court hearings on Inagua involving migrants accused of entering the country illegally, though he said there remained a need to provide migrants with access to legal aid.

However, HRB said of the issue yesterday: “This is a very complex issue: on the one hand, every person within this jurisdiction has a right to due process and to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise by a court of law; on the other hand, the wholesale and indiscriminate criminalisation of large groups of people in mass trials where there is no proper legal representation, cannot accord with their fundamental rights, especially as there may be legitimate refugees and asylum seekers among them.

“The fact of the matter is that the Immigration Act is more than 60 years old. Its drafters could not have contemplated the seismic shift in immigration trends and circumstances facing the Bahamas and the world today.”

HRB continued: “We therefore urge the new administration to take another look at the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, drafted by the Law Reform Commission, which the former government circulated for consultation but never brought before Parliament for debate.

“We believe the passage of this Bill will help the administration in beginning to effectively navigate many of the difficult issues surrounding undocumented migration in a manner which better conforms with the rights and protections in the Constitution.

“In the meantime, the situation in Inagua is at risk of becoming a serious humanitarian crisis. The island is in desperate need of help to manage the situation for the good of the residents, the migrants and the authorities on the ground. Human Rights Bahamas is committed to assisting in the resolution of this crisis and stands ready to support the authorities in any way we can.”