The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

DEFENCE Force Commodore Raymond King said there had been a notable decline in the number of undocumented Haitian immigrants trying to enter The Bahamas in the last two months.

“There has been a regression in terms of migration generally in this area,” Commodore King said. “We have seen a marked reduction in the numbers of Haitian migrants attempting to leave Haiti for The Bahamas or the United States. We’ve also seen a downtrend in the movements in the Cuban migrants moving towards the United States.”

Mr King attributed the decline to US policies such as the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that immediately expelled migrants without providing asylum hearings.

“Now you have a number of migrants from the region moving towards the Mexican-US border,” he said.

“That has taken some of the persons away from the normal traditional routes coming through The Bahamas to the United States otherwise, and so migration movement has moved towards that border.”

He added: “Secondly, the United States has implemented an immigration policy whereby persons from four countries, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, 30,000 persons per month, once they are vetted –– security vetting –– and they have a sponsor in the United States, they can reside in the United States for up to a two year period, so we have that incentive now seeking to demotivate persons from making that treacherous voyage to The Bahamas to the United States.”

Commodore King said visa waiver programmes countries like Jamaica have implemented have helped.

“You have the visa waiver programmes through Jamaica. The Cubans are now using that means and moving through Belize to get to the United States and so we have a number of factors. It is pleasing to me that people are looking at other options.”

Immigration Minister Keith Bell recently said nearly $1m had been spent on repatriations this year.

“I would have signed in excess of 200 repatriation orders,” he said.