In addition to clarifying my siblings and I legal status, when we went to school in the US as kids, we had to show that we were immunized, and we also had to undergo a physical. Did these rules change?

Also, there was never any mention of banning kids from schools. I guess the Tribune does not read its own articles. But who can blame them when they fill articles with quotes and concerns from the criminal, alarmist mind of Campbell?

of course, but your parents were not living in the U.S. as illegals. so apples and oranges?

No it is not. The same principle applies. Immigrant children or students, legal or not, across borders are required to have student visas.

Were you born in the U.S.? hmmmmm.....

America operates by this rule: DO AS I SAY..... NOT AS I DO. We see this everyday and we have these do-gooders coming here and crying about our "deficiencies" while the US is just as guilty of the same issues: immigration, education standards, discrimination laws, poverty & crime, prison rates of non-whites etc.

IF EACH BEFORE HIS DOORSTEP SWEPT ...............................

Any person born in the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen. There is no double standard here. Please Xenophobes, get your facts straight.

unless you are in the U.S. under the same circumstances you do fall under the same criteria. It is not a U.S. law its the United Nations. Also BAHAMAIANS parents who have a child in the U.S. are automatic American, Illegal Bahamians in the U.S. today and any other nationally have their kids ENROLLED and attending school. Ask the Mexicans? Do you think all their kids are not in school in the U.S. today? Yes a student visa is required to leave the Bahamas and attend school but did you go with illegal parents and enroll or did you leave legally and attend?

Again...there has never been any mention not allowing these non nationals into the school system and deny them an education. They are also "ENROLLED and attending school" in the Bahamas. However, The Bahamas has the right to enforce student visas, and identify all foreigners in its borders.

UN regulation or not, I am speaking to the hypocrisy of the United States, the US based Amnesty International and in particular the ignorant US congresswoman. Immigrant kids in the US are required to show status...and like the Bahamas it does not necessarily ban them from attending school. That being said, the US (and many other countries) are also in breach of international law. Why did she not voice her objection on that?

Anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen and entitled to all rights the same as any other citizen, regardless of whether that person's parents were in the U.S. illegally or not. What Mr. Mitchell is doing is illegal under all international law, and further is immoral. He and the government know full well that these persons are entitled to Bahamian citizen ship under Bahamian law. Many of these person's parents are entitled to Bahamian citizenship under Bahamian law. They don't have the papers because the government has refused through sloth to deliver them. These people, many now three generations deep in this country cannot get the "required" passport from their "country of origin" because their "country of origin" does not recognize them as citizens. It is a magnificent Catch 22, concocted by Mitchell and his cronies to appeal to the xenophobic vote in this country. It is grotesquely illegal and immoral.

Sooooooooooo, why Obama get all dem detention centers for dem Hispanic chirren?????????? And all this noise about ours when we catch illegals???? BULLSHIT ................... STFU

People are really running with this "concern" that the Bahamas will wind up a wasteland of frustrated and uneducated individuals. With no opportunities to speak of, you can have a masters degree, 10 BGCSEs, or nothing at all, and still live in the slums and engage in the social ills that come with having no opportunities. The government deserves to have a record of who is in our schools, and if illegal immigrants want to respond by pulling their kids out of school, that is their choice. Otherwise, I have seen or heard nothing to indicate that these children will be denied an education.

If you are a Bahamian, you are entitled to public education (subject to the education regulations). If you are a non-Bahamian, the government is requiring that you secure proper documents to show the school administration your status in the country. That is not discrimination ......... that is following proper procedures.

Is it right for a child to be registered in a public or private school without proper documentation?

**COB requires that a child must present a copy of his/her passport with his application. Is that discrimination????? When is it now mandatory that a citizen must obtain a passport?????**

we are talking about elementary schools duppyVAT. under international law, a child - illegal or not - has a right to basic education. you cant punish a kid for the actions of its parents. I guess what would help is that the Government allows these kids to be registered through school rather than through their (illegal) parents. If I were an Illegal parent, I would not register my kids, guess what happens if I show up at Immigration Offices?

Same difference .............. discrimination comes at all levels

The US has not signed the Convention on the Rights of Children. 194 countries, including The Bahamas, have signed.

Talk Talk if my Bahamian children have to pay and present the passports same goes for paul the days of free living are over Haitians have more money than Bahamians so if they want their children in school they will find the money. Just how they want eat they find money for food same thing

Canada requires students UNDER age 17 have permits.
Canada's Exceptions:
Studying without a study permit in SOME cases, MINOR children do not need a study permit to study in Canada. These cases include:
minor children attending kindergarten;
minor children who are refugees or refugee claimants, or whose parents are refugees or refugee claimants; and
minor children who are already in Canada with parents who are ALLOWED to work or study in Canada, and who want to attend per-school, primary or secondary school.
When minor children studying in Canada without a permit reach the age of majority (turn 18 or 19 depending on the province or territory), they must apply for a permit if they want to continue studying.

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2015…

As you outline, in Canada there are a lot of Sans-Papier, immigrants, asylum seekers and Canada has its rules but it is still a welcoming nation. If you are ok with the rules, you can stay. The Bahamas does not have any rules and seems not a welcoming nation (any more). It is good the Government starts implementing rules, but a solution must be found for illegal persons that are in the Bahamas already. You cant make a law outlining the immigration policy and laws of the Bahamas for the next 10 years based on what is happening now and with a view to win the next election. Doing this is called populism, its cheap, and damages our reputation as a sunny friendly nation.

Before we talk, talk, anymore read the Convention on the Rights of the child first. This is the "contract" that The Bahamas signed. Look at what we agreed to first.

Then let's talk.

You should first provide the link where it states that illegal immigrant kids will be denied an education if student visa fees are not paid.

Then let's talk.

I have no problem with the visa requirement but for two exceptions/clarifications: 1. the fee (if you have 4 kids that is BSD 500 p.a.), and 2. the process. Unfortunately the devil is in the detail. explain to me how an illegal immigrant kid will obtain the visa please, who signs the application?. step by step and then tell me, if you would file for a visa, if you were an illegal immigrant parent of a child. And by the way, it took me 11 months to renew a work permit for one of my foreign employees (white collar), not because it was difficult, but because Immigration Dept lost the file twice. So good luck with September 2015. There is no way that this Government can ensure due process to the applicants, which opens again a whole other can of worms and discussions.

Their parents will acknowledge that they are living illegally in the country - go through the process - whatever that entails, obtain the visa and wait for however long it takes. At the end of the process they and the kid(s) may or may not be repatriated. Meanwhile, the kid is in school.

If they decide to keep their kids out of school, to avoid being documented in this way, that is their option to exercise. But hopefully, they will be documented in some other way.

I was required to have a student visa to study in the USA. Why should our laws be any different than USA and if they are, we have every right to do so!

Never mind Amnesty International. Anyone hear one word from them about the killing of blacks, children, racial profiling and police brutality in USA?

Yet they want us to treat these Haitian criminals with white glove Senator Service?

Apprehend Haitians and all other illegal migrants. Deport them in the most economical ways possible, stop worrying about answering people that pay nothing to help and have no vested interest in Bahamas.

**Just do what needs to be done....No rocket science certificate required!**

Because the USA has not signed the convention they are different. We have made international commitments that the US has not.

Where is the official statement, or any for that matter, that illegal immigrant kids will be denied an education? Nowhere. So your point is irrelevant and at the very least, premature.

this will be a PR disaster for the Bahamas. Good intentions, very short term focused immigration policy, catastrophic communication. Now we have at least two Ministers (Fred&DPM) plus PM running after the monster they released. Funny how little it takes to get noticed in the World Press. I wish it was good news.

The US with its similar immigration crises with Mexicans have far more people than you realize who empathize with this country on the issue of addressing illegal immigration. If the world press does their job in reporting the news and not peddling opinion, and/or as long as The Bahamas continues to respond to these articles with facts, the country will be just fine.

Forget about the PR disaster. Bahamas simply can no longer afford to support illegal Haitian migrants.

A real PR disaster will be explaining to the world and future generations how and why Bahamians sat back and allowed Haitians to take over and destroy our country.

Stop talking and get rid of the dam illegal Haitians and any other illegals too!

The US does not have to abide by the convention, but The Bahamas has to.

I see no problem here. If the "convention" is not in our best interest.....then sign off the bloody thing!

Why is everyone reading into the "convention" without first considering what is best for Bahamas?

These agreements are not etched in stone. We signed on so we can definitely sign OFF.

The Vienna Convention provides that a party 'may invoke the impossibility of performing a treaty as a ground for terminating it if the impossibility results from the permanent disappearance or destruction of an object indispensable for the execution of the treaty'.

for a "fundamental change of circumstances" which had not been foreseen by the parties, but only if
(a) the existence of those circumstances constituted an essential basis of the consent of the parties bound by the treaty; and
(b) the effect of the change is to radically transform the extent of obligations still to be performed.

Don't think you can do it where you are taking away peoples "Human Rights".

The Bahamas signed it and we have to comply with it.

Campbell and the Tribune seems to be very close. They should have a talk with Ms. white and others to learn what kind of person Campbell is. dishonest and slippery. this article does say the Government has reserved some rights in regard to article 2.

Guys, it doesn't matter what kind of person Campbell is. What counts is what we, as a nation do.

The Bahamas signed certain international obligations and we are bound by them.

The status of Sovereign Nation comes with obligations. Independence come at a price.

You are wasting your time Economist. When it come to the Haitian issue you will be extremely challenge to find a reasonable mind. This is one issue that the mentally challenge and the intellectual agree on in the Bahamas.

For everyone's information and easy of reference. Please read.

Below is 1. the site for the Convention on the Rights of the Child and 2. the exceptions that The Bahamas said as to Article 2

http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalint…

https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetai…

Once again, people like DEDDIE only want to see one solution and that is all Haitians in the Bahamas regulated and or granted citizenship. People who oppose your view can say the same thing that it is "extremely challenging for someone like you to have a reasonable mind." And by the way what you are really saying is that the majority of Bahamians should really stop being stubborn and listen to you right? I said you were an ass. I have read your comments from day one on this issue and none was rationale. As far as you and your kind are concerned the government will always be doing something wrong whenever they bring some policy that you think targets Haitian. Amazing!

But you see you gat it wrong. It is the Haitian mentality that cannot see the light or refuses to see the light. The Haitian would rather fight for what was never theirs and keep on demanding more. That is in their psyche. Take, take, take, take , until there is nothing left then move on to the next country.

Let's put aside all the other bullshit and look at the matter for what it is. If the illegal Haitian masses would at least try to help resolve the problem then it really wouldn't matter. But no, they are in this country illegally, refuse to leave on their own will and still call Bahamians stupid? FCK that! There is no diplomatic way to approach this. To get rid of worms to flush em out, simple! It is scary when you look at your school system and you see more Haitian born children than natural Bahamians. Christ, the buses that transport children to and from school on Carmichael Road are all Haitian children. You see them by the thousands waiting through the short cuts. This shit is a mess. The Haitian women have been mass producing and out numbering Bahamian women by the dozen and yall complaining about Fred's policy? Go ahead Fred, you keep doing your shit. Again I must stress that we need to preserve our Bahamian culture by all means necessary

@Economist-You seem to have a lot of energy on this matter. Why don't you be a good Samaritan and travel to Haiti and lecture them about the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They have been getting it wrong for years. They allow adults to take their children on these lil rigged boats across treacherous waters. What have ye to say to that??? Besides, Bahamians have been good to Haitians, we gat this. Your concern and that of the Amnesty people should be directed at the other countries that literally kill illegal Haitians who enter their shores. Do that research and get back to us, OK? Ok then.

By the way DEDDIE DEM and ECONOMIST/VOLAITAIRE: One of the other stories in this paper reads, "Canadian Accused Of Working Illegally". This person was taken to court and arraigned before a judge, but ya don't see thousands of Canadian citizens accusing the Bahamas about being unfair. No other country cloaks their people and pat them on the back saying "good job for entering another man's country without being detected. Now go find some work and send it back to our people"

Emac did you read the links? You can "run your mouth" as much as you like but that will not change anything.

Please put some energy into reading what is required to fix this.

How Haiti is run is not my problem.

I want the inflow of illegal Haitians stopped, a planed way of dealing with the rest, and removing those that should not be here as soon a legally (on the world stage) possible.

At the moment you seem to be trying to live in fantasy land.

There is a real world out there and, much as you may not like it, you have to live by its rules.

Thank you for the link, specifically articles 28 and 29 which apply to educating "the child." I see nothing that changes my opinion on this matter as the government is not denying children access to education while in the country. If that is what comes of the government's attempt to account for who is in the country, it is again the fault of the Haitian parents who want to continue to skirt responsibilty for the fact that they are illegal residents and should be subject to deportation. At some point, it is necessary for the Bahamas to have a reliable count of how many immigrants, legal and otherwise, are in the country. In a previous response, you talk about granting citizenship here and there for this reason and that reason. How can the government identify such persons when there is no record of them? Haitians want it their way or no way. The fact that any exercise to document illegals will result in large groups of Haitians being legalized is not enough for them because large groups of Haitians will also be identified for deportation. The Bahamian government has to take a tough stance and I hope they stay the course.

Economist, if ya want to fix the problem, then ya gatte to the root or the problem. The root of the problem lies in Haiti, not the Bahamas. I live in fantasy land??? Are you kidding me? I live in an area infested by illegals. You are the one who need to come to grips with reality my friend. One side cannot play by the rules while the other side ignore the rules. You can google all the documents related to the subject that you like, the main focus here is that the BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION is not guilty of any breech of any international laws. We as Bahamians must do what is in the best interest of Bahamians. So stop dabbling in things you really don't understand and start reporting illegals so that we could get this shit under control. And no. I did not read the links. Don't need to. But if you are ready to really face this issue head on I will gladly give you a tour and maybe then you will catch your senses. But then again, you may be one a dem living in disguise. People style of writing don't change. The argument that you bring related to this issue seems very similar to that of another blogger. You ain change ya user name on this site ay? Hmmmm...

No, no change of name. Guess I am not alone. Sorry to disappoint you.

Have you even bothered to read the Immigration Act?

Emac, I have read the article about the Canadian. I see that the LAW APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED.

An investigation was made, having been satisfied that they had sufficient evidence, an arrest was made and he was taken before the court.

I don't hear about hundreds of investigations being made BEFORE the round ups. Those round ups should be for specific people. Those people would then be taken before the court and, if the court orders, deported. This is how, as I understand him, Mr. Roker operated.

Mr. Roker knew what the law was and what international obligations The Bahamas had signed on to and followed everything correctly.

Thank you for pointing out how EVERYONE is to be treated.

Dominican Republic had similar issues with "Haitians and conventions" that they reneged on in the best interest of their country.

There is absolutely no reason Bahamas cannot do the same. We must do what is best for our country and future generations of Bahamians.

Pandering to Haitians or anyone else with their own agenda against our national interest is just plain stupid!

We must put our foot down hard now and get rid of the dam illegal Haitians and others or we will lose control of our country.

The international community could bitch and whine all they want. Illegal Haitian migrants are also not welcome in their countries either, so ignore their noise and get on with doing whatever we have to do to secure our country for Bahamians.

Can you refer (send the link or links) to an article that shows they have reneged, please?

This would be helpful, thanks.

@Economist-Sorry had to take a coffee break. Anyway, according to one of your comments on another article in this paper, you wrote the following. It is safe to say that the following is your solution for the illegal migrant problem we have in the Bahamas:

*" I would consider granting citizenship to those who have been here over twenty years and are making a valuable contribution to our society.
Thirdly, I would consider granting residence, with the right to work in the business for which they are trained or skilled to those who had been here for over fifteen years and can show a connection with the country (Bahamian wife or husband with or without children).
For those who have lived here for over ten years I would consider granting a work permit. Again they would also have to show a connection with the country (husband /wife)."*

I see where your head is. If your suggestions were to be taken seriously, the Bahamas would sink to a new level to that of a run down dirty place we used to call home. Look at Little Haiti in Miami. They were given the opportunity, look at the mess they made over there. You are saying regulate over 160 Haitians, plus other foreigners in the Bahamas. I see you are hooked on stupid. It is like asking someone to dress up the roaches in their home instead of exterminating them. But since even Blind Blake can see where your allegiance lies, I wouldn't even respond to any of your comments relating to this matter again.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing and had a change of heart on my drive this morning.

I thought that I would assist you in trying to solve your illegal immigrant problem in your area.

There is nothing to prevent you from assisting the Immigration Department to provide evidence of person who are here illegally, identify them by name or alias.

This way you could ensure that the persons are deported properly and no one will be able to challenge the deportation.

By the way The Bahamas has on of the most backward immigration policies. If we had a program in place we would have immigrants who would be able to support themselves and contribute to our society.

I know that you want to deport all illegals, but sadly we have let this get so badly out of hand that it would take 5 or 10 years to process and deport the 60,000 or 80,000 (depending on who you believe) illegals.

Unless we stop illegals at the boarder at the same time we will have tens of thousands all back again.

This is why I advocate sending five or six defence force boats south to turn the illegals back before they get very far from their own country. We must stop the flow first.

Emac, you are the only person who has bothered to consider this.

I just put it down as a suggestion. The object is to get a debate going on how to fix the problem.

We, as Bahamians, need to do more than wait on the politicians to do something. We need to tell them what we want, but it must be workable.

I may be a pain in the ass, but I really want to solve the problem.

For those who do not read news much outside of the Bahamas, every country in this hemisphere is trying to resolve this illegal immigration problem. Like I always say don't mind the noise in the market. The majority of the citizens of each of these countries support deportation and the route we are taking to resolve this problem. Americans top the list.

http://news.yahoo.com/bahamas-fends-off…

There is nothing in the article that says Americans agree or support the policy. There are comments from people who say how we treat illegals and they are not complimentary.

Sigh...It is not the article that supports our immigration policy. The people who read the article and responded accordingly are the ones that matters. Journalists should never take side but just report on issue: So of course the person who wrote the article cannot say that they support the Bahamas' immigration policies. The description used by the commenters can be interpreted from many different angles. It depends on which side of the fence you are standing.

So now if the comments from the readers are not worth anything, why are we wasting our time commenting here?????????????

LOOK. Get your monies together. Ya have until September 2015.If Bahamians could bite their gums up about VAT and crying "poor mouth" and still have to pay,why do anyone making noise think that illegals or any other immigrant would not be required to pay this fee.You'll must be think the government have time for ya'll. Ya'll too "jokey" nah.LOLOL

Read.......#The reservation read: “The government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas upon signing the convention reserves the right not to apply the provisions of Article 2 of the said convention insofar as those provisions relate to the conferment of citizenship upon a child having regard to the provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

The provisions of the Constitution read as follows:

"7. (1) A person born in The Bahamas after 9th July 1973 neither of whose
parents is a citizen of The Bahamas shall be entitled, upon making application on
his attaining the age of eighteen years or within twelve months thereafter in such
manner as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas:
Provided that if he is a citizen of some country other than The Bahamas he shall
not be entitled to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas under this Article unless
he renounces his citizenship of that other country, takes the oath of allegiance and
makes and registers such declaration of his intentions concerning residence as may
be prescribed.
(2) Any application for registration under this Article shall be subject to such
exceptions or qualifications as may be prescribed in the interests of national security
or public policy."

Like I said, it is difficult to find reasonable minds on this topic. Like someone said in a previous blog, if you have a leak in your boat, fix the leak. Don't continue to bail water. Our immigration policy is bailing water which we have been doing for the past 60 years. Excuse me if I don't get excited by another Minister of Immigration coming with a bucket. How many lip service paid about the Defence Force having a robust base in Inagua.

By the way Emac, I consider you one of the mentally challenge ones when it comes to this issue. Your reasoning is sound otherwise. You actually believe that their are more Haitian born children in our school system than Bahamian born. I can take you through Bain Town and there are some Bahamian chicks matching Haitians, baby for baby (lol).

@DEDDIE: "their are more Haitian born children in our school system" or THERE are more Haitian born children in our school system? You may consider me mentally challenge when it comes to this issue, but I see that you are grammatically challenged when it comes to commenting on any issue. :( One love still though