By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THREE Haitian male migrants found in a school bus turned into a home on Abaco were arrested and pleaded guilty to illegal landing before the Magistrate’s Court.

The Immigration Department said in a press release yesterday the men were arraigned in court on the island before Magistrate Ancella Evans. Officials said the men had no legal status in the country and revealed while in custody that they entered the country by boat in December 2020.

“Upon conviction, migrants were ordered to remain in immigration custody for deportation having been fined $300 or in default of payment, serve one month at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services,” the release stated.

An official complaint was lodged with the department after a video spread on social media of a school bus turned into a dwelling home for suspected illegal migrants in the Dundas Town, Abaco, area.

In the video, a man who identified himself as “a member of the Dundas Town Town Committee”, noted a church service on April 18 was taking place right across from the vehicle, which was parked in an area on the side of the road.

He wanted to find out information about what was going on in the school bus and gave commentary as he walked over to the vehicle.

“Nobody seems to want to tell you what’s going on here, but when you can get a wrecker to bring a bus here, there is a problem,” he said in the video.

The footage captured a man pushing what appeared to be a mattress into a yellow school bus. The man recording the video also claimed there was a septic tank next to the bus, panning to a large hole that had been dug, and said that “people are already living in it (the bus).”

A lady was seen inside the bus closing the door as the camera was on her.

Another man said: “That’s my property I buy.”

The department noted that on April 19, a joint operation consisting of officers from the department’s Abaco district, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and officials from the Departments of Housing and Environmental Health, led to the arrest and subsequent conviction of the three Haitians.

“An official complaint was lodged with the department after a video made the rounds on social media of a school bus that had been converted into a dwelling home for suspected illegal migrants in the Dundas Town, Abaco area. The team investigated the complaint and found three males, later discovered to be Haitian migrants onboard the bus. The trio attempted to evade custody, however, did not make good their escape.

“It is expected that the Departments of Housing and Environment Health, or any other relevant agency, pursue legal recourse for infractions of any other laws with respect to this initial report.”

Probed on the arrest and the crackdown on immigration issues, Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson explained the rules in place that are being followed.

Mr Johnson noted: “We have laws and regulations that govern the immigration to and from The Bahamas and what they’re simply doing is following the rules and procedure always. Nothing has changed.

“The immigration is stationed throughout The Bahamas and they’re required to do certain things. So wherever they have reasonable suspicion to believe that someone is not here properly resident in The Bahamas they have the authority to go and address those issue and that’s just what they’re doing. So they’re not picking on anyone – it is what the law allows.

“What we not only suggest, but say to persons, if that you want to come to The Bahamas and you want to live in The Bahamas, there’s a procedure. That procedure is designed to protect you so we know who’s here if something should happen to you the foreign affairs department can properly respond to you and then you are properly placed within inside the economic ecosystem of the Bahamas, contributing.”