By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION enforcement operations in Abaco were said to be “days away” as parliamentarians wrapped up debate on the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2015 in the House of Assembly last night.

Restating the government’s position, Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell called for calm and rational debate over the bill.

He said that there has been a “dramatic decrease in the number of boats being interdicted at sea” since the government’s new immigration policy was introduced on November 1.

He listed contributing factors as “the weather, the work of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and their new boats and the work of the Department of Immigration”.

“This is about one thing and one thing only,” he said, “ensuring that everyone in The Bahamas has some document which shows that they have the right to live and work in The Bahamas.

“Today is the time to act, we are never going to get it perfectly right. We have to start. Many people forget that this policy started out last year when day after day, 100 at a time were arriving from the south of us, swamping our country and its resources.”

He added: “The Bahamian people were fed up and the government had to act.”

The bill received bipartisan support with St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman, shadow minister for immigration, stating the Free National Movement’s support of efforts to curb illegal immigration.

However, Mr Chipman said he could not support an amendment that would give the minister discretionary powers to formulate and implement sector policy without consultation.

Mr Mitchell later clarified that sector policy would be formulated at the Cabinet level, which Mr Chipman accepted.

During his contribution, Mr Chipman underscored the failure of successive governments to secure national borders, or manage the backlog of immigration applications from children born to foreign parents, and children born to Bahamians abroad.

“The government has failed to ensure that persons being deported, who may have some legitimate claim in the future, will be properly furnished with the necessary documents prior to repatriation. There is no system to allow a Bahamian document to be obtained in the country they are being deported to.

“The government has failed to advance any policy or practice to properly integrate new citizens, especially those who are non-English speaking,” Mr Chipman added.

“The government has failed to introduce any policy fairly across the board to avoid any grouping of persons being expressly targeted, failed to investigate complaints in a timely fashion, this promotes a lack of transparency and faith in its ability to do so.”

He added: “This act speaks to living here permanently but we have to address this issue with people’s right to the Constitution if you are born in The Bahamas.

“Before the children are repatriated they should be properly documented. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered prior to the passage of this bill regarding the belonger’s permit.”

Mr Chipman also questioned whether there was an age-cap for immigration reservists, and whether there will be proper coverage for occupational hazards.

He called for the regulations for the Immigration Reserve to be tabled before the amendments are passed.

Legislation to regularise the government’s new immigration policy and establish a legal framework for the Carmichael Road Detention Centre were tabled last week.

The amendment will allow officials to grant resident belonger permits; establish a sector policy that outlines the exercise of ministerial discretion as it relates to residence and employment, and create an Immigration Reserve.

Mr Mitchell said: “Some people (children of Bahamians born abroad) waited until they were adults to apply (for citizenship) and found themselves in the invidious position of having to renounce their citizenship of origin and so chose instead to apply for permanent residence with the right to work. The only problem is under the present law and regulations that costs $10,000.

“So this bill will solve that problem for them by doing two things,” he said, “creating the status of a resident belonger for them or allowing them to obtain permanent residence at a price of $250.”

The November 1 policy requires every non-Bahamian living in the country to have a passport of their nationality with proof of their status to live and work in The Bahamas.

The Department of Immigration has been mired in controversy over its enforcement of the policy, with criticisms levelled from local and international human rights groups.

During his contribution yesterday, Mr Mitchell acknowledged that the Detention Centre was under resourced and poorly managed, adding that it was a vexing issue.

Mr Mitchell also underscored the need for a proper isolation facility, and confirmed that there were three cases of chicken pox at the centre.

He added: “Food is prepared by the Department of Social Services. I am advised that the food is nutritious, but the issue is the type of food is not an acceptable diet for some detainees.

“There is no violation of the religious rights of detainees in this regard as far as I am aware.”