By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

WORK permit holders will now be fingerprinted as the Department of Immigration continues to roll out its new digital system.

Immigration Minister Brent Symonette, pictured, told The Tribune foreign nationals will be required to be fingerprinted in order to collect their new or renewed permits.

He said the government was still considering using biometric data for birth records, along with introducing limits on the number of work permits granted to an individual.

“Anytime a person requires an immigration permit,” he said, “the idea is you’ll be fingerprinted. So, if you don’t require an immigration permit, you won’t be fingerprinted for that reason. (Biometrics) we are looking at that. You got to have something at birth to prove (who you are).”

The technical term biometrics refers to the measurement and analysis of unique human characteristics, and is mainly used for identification and authentication. Common identifiers used for passports are finger scans, iris scans or digital photographs.

“It’s in process now,” Mr Symonette continued, “it’s 7,000 applications that were rolled over from the last computer system. These are the type of things – (for example) this man spent his first five years in the Bahamas, (was) taken to Haiti by his mother in 1984, he returned 19 years later illegally by boat. How do we prove he is who he is?

“He has been arrested, detained, sent to the detention centre and the story goes on. 

“The onus is on the person, you can’t put the onus on the state. I can prove who I am, I got a birth certificate. When I was born the registrar physically came to the hospital and saw the mother laying in the bed with baby in hand. What happens now is PMH gives a letter saying Robin Symonette had a live birth, and you then take that piece of paper down to the registrar.”

Immigration laws are currently before retired Justice Anita Allen to be overhauled, according to Mr Symonette, who said he hoped to begin town hall forums on the hot button issue by year’s end.

“We need to look at the whole immigration issue and that’s what I’ve been saying for many years,” he said. 

“First of all, length of work permits, who gets work permits. The fact some people are working two and three jobs on one work permit, which is against the law. 

“When I was here last, I imposed a policy that you couldn’t get a work permit beyond 10 years, Joe Public almost kill me. They said send ‘everyone else man back, but not mine. I need mine, I’ve trained him.’ We created these problems ourselves. You go to the gas station, most of those fellows pumping gas (are on work permits). So, you trying to tell me a Bahamian can’t pump gas? No, a Bahamian doesn’t want to pump gas because possibly the pay isn’t what we want.

“So maybe what we need to do is count how many nationalities are in this country. 

“Peg a number and the rest go home. In other countries, you’re only entitled to a work permit for so many years. We have people here for 20 years on work permits, and then when they hit the 20-year mark, they apply for permanent residency based on the fact they were here for 25 years. But someone had to approve them for employment for 20 years,” Mr Symonette said.

Last year, the government put revenue from immigration fees at around $45 million, and the department is expected to rake in some $65 million this year.

However, Mr Symonette argued the high volume of permits granted by the department annually was not driven by profits. 

“It’s not a profit issue,” he said, “it’s not being driven by profit, no. I mean sure we raise ‘x’ millions of dollars on permit fees and I pay ‘x’ amount of dollars in immigration stuff. I wouldn’t need them if I didn’t have the permits.”