Probe of 'abuse' by Immigration

Monday, December 8, 2014

IMMIGRATION officials are investigating allegations of abuse from a woman born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell said yesterday.

While he denied any assault or battery of people picked up in recent routine checks, he said that every public complaint of abuse is looked into.

He was referring to three reports published exclusively in The Tribune last week.

Mr Mitchell also said officials were looking into installing cameras in immigration buses as a precautionary measure.

In addition, it was announced last night that Prime Minister Perry Christie is expected to meet Haitian President Michel Martelly at the invitation of the Haitian government - for the first time since the November 1 new policies on immigration. The two are expected to meet during the prime minister’s visit to Cuba for the Caricom summit, to which he led a delegation yesterday.

In one incident, 19-year-old Dahene Nonord, born in the Bahamas to Haitian parents, told this newspaper that she was kicked several times, punched and put in a head-lock by immigration officers on Wednesday morning.

Ms Nonord admitted that she was not carrying her Bahamian documents to show her legal status in the country when officials approached her while she was walking on Cowpen Road. She said she was “wrongfully” apprehended and held in the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

Mr Mitchell said Ms Nonord filed a complaint on Thursday that is now under investigation by officials.

Human rights lawyer Fred Smith, QC, said immigration officials accosted him on Wednesday afternoon because he was taking photographs of them carrying out apprehensions at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Speaking during a press conference at the Department of Immigration, Mr Mitchell told reporters that the victims’ accounts did not match official reports.

Mr Mitchell said: “The standard for these checks is that of a reasonable suspicion. It is the constitutional standard. Each officer is briefed about the responsibility to adhere to that standard.

“To the best of my knowledge that standard has not been violated, and notwithstanding the most recent reports in the press, I am advised that no one has been assaulted or battered by any officer of the department in connection with the routine checks which are presently under review and scrutiny in the public domain.

“At this point the evidence is that her (Ms Nonord’s) version of the facts does not match the records of the department.

“Similarly, the complaint by Fred Smith, QC, was reported in the press. The report of Mr Smith does not match the evidence which is available to the department. In fact, the incident which he describes may have jeopardised the safety of an immigration operation.”

On November 1, the day government’s new immigration restrictions took effect, officials apprehended suspected illegal immigrants in several parts of New Providence.

Last week, The Tribune also reported that the mother of two children picked up by Immigration officials on November 1 alleged that the children slept on the floor of the Carmichael Road Detention Centre. The children were born in the Bahamas, their mother said.

The children, who were at home with an illegal immigrant when they were apprehended, were allegedly cold and hungry until they were released from the centre nearly three days later.

The Tribune also reported last week a father, who did not have legal status, admitted that he abandoned his children at home on November 1 because immigration officers were approaching.

These children were taken into the care of the state until they were released to legal guardians, he said.

Mr Mitchell said legal residents are free to make a complaint about any concerns about treatment of children while in custody.

“I would only say again that if the parents are lawfully in the Bahamas, they are invited to file a complaint either to the embassy of their nationality or directly to the Assistant Director of Immigration Dwight Beneby for investigation.

“In reviewing the newspaper report, the officials pointed out to me that the individuals making the complaints are being reviewed along with our procedures to be sure that no standard of human dignity or law was violated. Officers take the utmost care in dispensing their duties. We are especially sensitive about the treatment of children.”

Tomorrow, 228 people are expected to be repatriated to their home countries along with their children, Mr Mitchell said.

He urged the support of the public as officials work to correct illegal migration issues and protect the country’s borders.

Comments

duppyVAT says...

The illegal haitians, jamaicans, Chinese etc have been abusing us for decades .......... watsayu??

Posted 8 December 2014, 10:33 a.m. Suggest removal

Andrewharris says...

That does not mean we abuse them.

Posted 8 December 2014, 2:27 p.m. Suggest removal

jamaicaproud says...

You can Manhandle Haitians maybe but Jamaicans and Chinese you cannot. You jolly well know 95% of Jamaicans in the Bahamas were recruited for employment by people who came seeking. I cannot speak for the drug runners and whore mongers. The problem you have with Jamaicans is they come with a mission, to make it,and then the second problem is that their children take it 'to the next level.". However your laws deny them citizenship so then you have to come back and recruit a new set and the cycle continues. If you have gas in your car why are you venting so much steam?

Posted 9 December 2014, 10:17 a.m. Suggest removal

Voltaire says...

I say this - lets dust off our mirror and have a look at ourselves: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/diana/haitib…

Posted 8 December 2014, 11:29 a.m. Suggest removal

Well said

mangogirl01 says...

Voltaire, that is a very interesting report but it is 10-years old and the Bahamas is now overrun with illegal immigrants. The policy has changed wherein Immigration officers no longer conduct night raids and the Bahamas just cannot continue in this vein of absorbing illegal immigrants. Too, Haitians cannot claim refugee status as our laws do not allow for that! I am so sick and tired of all illegall immigrants in our country sucking our social, education and health services dry and they don't really care that they are doing it. In fact, they feel the Bahamas owe them something because they were born here, illegally. I applaud Minister Mitchell in having the intestinal fortitude to address and act on this very vexing and explosive immigration problem in our beloved country. The Bahamas is just too small to continue to absord these illegal immigrants who do not contribute to the country's economy and continues to be a drain on its social, education and health resources. The majority of illegal immigrants are Haitians so yes, the focus is more on them but they need to take their fight back home to their country and their government; they have no problem saying how proud they are of Haiti but yet they do not want to go back! More and more countries in the World are addressing illegal immigration and it seems Haitians just want to enter other countries illegally with no respect for the countries' laws and then cry discrimination when deportation is enforced; they are in the millions illegally in the Dominician Republic, in the thousands in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States. It is obivious that they have no respect for our laws and these countries laws as long as they can enter illegally and don't get caught. Enough is enough - our country cannot take it any more. Again, kudos to Minister Mitchell and our Immigration Department, keep up the good work!

Posted 8 December 2014, 1:10 p.m. Suggest removal

mangogirl011 - I only wish things had changed in the last 10 years. I can't repeat it all, but in case you didn't see and have time and are interested, the salient points of the argument are in the comments section of these two earlier stories:

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2014/dec…

Posted 8 December 2014, 1:15 p.m. Suggest removal

@mangogirl011 - this was printed today - as up to date as they come. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2014/dec…
I understand the frustration that many in this society feel, but we have to be very careful HOW we do what we do.

Posted 8 December 2014, 1:17 p.m. Suggest removal

Emac says...

Installing cameras on buses is a great idea. The Bahamas also needs an independent board to investigate these claims so that all those who assert being abused are at least given the satisfaction that their claims are being taken seriously. This same board could also be used to look into reports of abuse by the police force and all of the other enforcement agencies. I am not talking about a board made up of 3 political unemployed cronies and a clergyman, but a real board made up of people who are knowledgeable about the constitutional laws of the Bahamas and UN the policies regarding human rights, with at least 2 foreign nationals. Notice I said human rights and not Haitian rights. Meaning all nationalities, including Bahamians. Even though I believe that nothing can be substantiated without proper prove or evidence, it is not good for Bahamians to be perceived as supporting this type of behavior.

Posted 8 December 2014, 2:54 p.m. Suggest removal

countryfirst says...

Mr. Mitchell we need to start arresting and charging those folks that hire these illegals because I see folks as soon as immigration pick up their illegal workers they go and get a new crew so the cycle continues,other than that this is just a political ploy by the PLP.

Posted 8 December 2014, 3:38 p.m. Suggest removal

TheMadHatter says...

Min. Mitchell said about 3 weeks ago that he plans to table a Bill in the House to fine employers. I have not heard that it got into the House yet, but I expect he is working on it very hard.

Posted 8 December 2014, 10:03 p.m. Suggest removal

@ Emac - couldn't agree more with everything you said.

Posted 8 December 2014, 4:26 p.m. Suggest removal

Stapedius says...

Install the cameras post haste and let there not be any mistake that we take our border security seriously. While we all agree that there should be a humane and decent approach to this it must be said that the officers are not always faced with pleasant situations. I would imagine that the environment can become quite hostile and some force is used in apprehension. Now justifiable force is debatable. But we have to really make sense of what we are calling abuse. The reality is many people do not go peacefully. There have been reports of officers being spat on, having objects thrown at them etc. So I would absolutely agree that cameras would clear up a lot of the ambiguity of what is being called abuse. If there is evidence to support abuse or mistreatment by all means those responsible should be held to account.

Posted 9 December 2014, 3:50 a.m. Suggest removal

ted4bz says...

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

Posted 9 December 2014, 10:36 a.m. Suggest removal