By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday defended the country’s immigration policy against claims that it has discouraged foreign investment.

Mr Mitchell insisted that there was no policy that prevented a legitimate migrant from coming to the Bahamas, adding that any complaint stemmed from capacity issues in processing requests.

“There is no policy by the Department of Immigration or the government which retards economic growth or development,” he said.

“No business can legitimately complain that they cannot get the workers they need to run their businesses if it requires the permission of the Department of Immigration.”

“Some people complain legitimately about matters taking too long. The real issue there has to be identified. The reason for delays has to do with resources and capacity – not the policy. This country is an easy country to migrate to lawfully.

“We admit there are issues in capacity to respond as timely as we would like but there is no policy which stops a legitimate migrant from coming to The Bahamas.”

Mr Mitchell was responding directly to statements made by former Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing in an interview with The Tribune.

Speaking about the economy of Grand Bahama, Mr Laing called for this country’s immigration policy to be liberalised in order to attract significant foreign investment and high net worth migrants to reside and visit on a longer-term basis.

Underscoring a need for “leaders with courage”, the former Cabinet minister suggested that the government’s new policy was a panicked response to its unpopularity with the public.

Mr Mitchell said: “We came to office by our Charter or Governance promising to fix the immigration problem. We could not, for reasons of national security, have our borders constantly breached by thousands of people who simply jumped on a boat and came into the Bahamas without permission.”

He said: “We have taken measures in the national security interest of our country to put a stop to it.”

During yesterday’s press conference, Mr Mitchell also provided an update on recent immigration operations in New Providence.

On Tuesday, officials arrested 21 people during a sweep of the Bay Street area and the Straw Market.

Of those persons, nine people were detained and 12 others were released after paying delinquent work permit fees.

Mr Mitchell cautioned that only Bahamians can be licensed Straw Market vendors and stall owners, and that all employees must have a valid work permit.

As of yesterday, there were 180 persons detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre – 139 of those persons are Haitians. Three adults and three children are presently held at a safe house.

Mr Mitchell said that the department has repatriated 420 persons in the period June 1 to June 23.

The figure represents 369 Haitians, 14 Cubans, 13 Jamaicans, eight Brazilians, eight Georgians, and two persons each from Venezuela and Ecuador.

The department also repatriated one national each from India, Peru, Mongolia, and Bangladesh during that time frame.