The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Minister Alfred Sears said he ordered an investigation into reports that a 12-year-old boy and his two siblings were left to fend for themselves after immigration officers arrested their mother in the Kool Acres shanty town last week.

The investigation, he said, will also look into whether residents were abused as some of them claimed.

 Mr Sears also confirmed that former Immigration Director William Pratt is back again in his old role, replacing Keturah Ferguson who was removed under circumstances that the Davis administration has yet to clarify.

Last night, when The Tribune asked Prime Minister Philip Davis at Government House if he could say why Ms Ferguson was sent on leave, he declined.

Office of the Prime Minister Press Secretary Keishla Adderley had said earlier that Mr Davis would address the issue himself.

Ms Ferguson’s role as head of immigration became tenuous after a series of leaks revealed her discontent with former minister Keith Bell’s alleged interference in the department’s work.

Regarding what happened when immigration officers posted eviction notices in Kool Acres last week, Mr Sears said the ministry’s mandate is to carry out its duties in a firm, but humane way.

“I’ve asked that an investigation be undertaken and a report be provided to me, but I can tell you that the mandate of the Department of Immigration and the ministry is to ensure effective enforcement of immigration laws in a humane and also in a fair manner,” he said. “Once I’m fully briefed, I will be able to speak to that particular case.”

 Mr Sears says the Department of Immigration is more important than ever as some eight million persons are expected to enter The Bahamas this year. 

 “The Immigration Department is a very hardworking department, and it is an important instrument of national security because it is the entity which determines the admissibility of persons into our country.

 “All of those persons who come into our country are subject to the determination of an immigration officer, also to detect persons who are in the country and have not been lawfully admitted, and to detain those persons in a lawful manner. With the appropriate judicial process, those persons will be returned to their home countries.

 “As we move forward, we will be investing in more training. Certainly, there needs to be more equipment, in terms of vehicles, as well as technology and work stations. Those matters are being addressed now. There will be amendments to the law, as well as the development of new facilities so that the work of the Ministry of Immigration can be carried out more efficiently.”