Debate over treatment of illegal aliens

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE recent announcement by the Prime Minister of his government’s intention to deal with the illegal alien problem, has rightly sparked a debate on the treatment of illegal aliens in The Bahamas. I wish to join the debate.

Article 7 of the constitution of The Bahamas reads in part, as follows:

“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:” The remainder of the article speaks to the renunciation of any citizenship that the person might have; the taking of the oath of allegiance; and is subject to “such exceptions or qualifications as may be prescribed in the interests of national security or public policy.”

I am not a lawyer, so I must rely on my knowledge of the English language.

My understanding of the article is that persons born in The Bahamas after July 9, 1973, are entitled to be registered as citizens upon making an application within the time prescribed by the constitution. The right is to be registered as a citizen of the Bahamas, and not, as some have suggested, that the right is to apply to be registered as a citizen.

If my understanding of the constitution is correct, then The Bahamas has, since 2001 (18 years after 1973) denied to persons born in The Bahamas, their constitutional right to be registered as citizens of The Bahamas. If my understanding of the constitution is incorrect, then I hope that some person learned in the law will show why I am wrong.

The Bahamas has never, in my opinion, been serious about persons born in The Bahamas after 1973, accessing their right to citizenship.

If it was serious, then there would have been public service announcements in Creole and English advising these persons of their constitutional right.

Since the majority of persons entitled to this right would be persons whose parents are Haitian, and who would not normally be familiar with the provisions of the constitution, then it was the obligation of The Bahamas to inform these persons of their rights. It is not too late to correct this oversight.

Many Bahamians assert that The Bahamas is a Christian nation.

The Christian thing to do, in my opinion, would be to invite all those eligible persons, who might not have known of their rights, and the imposed application deadline to make application now so that they could claim their constitutional rights.

A LEONARD ARCHER

Nassau,

October 13, 2017.