By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration says it will not allow Haitian nationals to enter The Bahamas to apply for US visas, insisting that a new American policy designating Nassau as the processing site will not change this country’s entry rules.

In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister noted that the US in June restricted Haitian nationals from entering its borders. Against that backdrop, it said yesterday’s announcement that Haitian immigrant visa applications will be processed at the US Embassy in Nassau “will result in no additional entries to The Bahamas for the purpose of US visa applications. Because US policy fully restricts entry to their country by Haitian nationals, we will not grant entry to The Bahamas for the purpose of applying for a US visa”.

The combination of the State Department naming Nassau as the processing site, Washington’s ban on Haitian nationals entering the US, and the Bahamian government’s refusal to admit them for visa purposes created a messy picture yesterday.

Speaking in Exuma, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis reinforced the government’s position, saying The Bahamas will not be “used” for visa processing. “We are not going to be just used for the purposes of allowing… because what happens if someone comes here and that visa is denied?” he said. “There’s no need to come to The Bahamas. Visas, you can go online and apply, and if you meet the criteria, it could be done.”

He said Haitian nationals already require Bahamian visas, and the government has been reviewing stricter entry requirements for the past six months, with further tightening to come. “It was tightened at that time and we will tighten again.”

The new US policy, posted on the State Department’s website, takes effect on November 1 and follows the suspension of routine visa services in Port-au-Prince amid Haiti’s worsening instability. The decision to make Nassau the processing post had triggered widespread concern on social media about its implications for The Bahamas.

The State Department’s announcement followed a series of immigration restrictions President Donald Trump introduced earlier this year as part of his second administration. Those measures, framed as national security protections, limit travel from Haiti and other countries. At the time, Mr Trump said high overstay rates and large numbers of Haitians entering the US illegally justified the move. “Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States,” he wrote in the proclamation. “The entry into the United States of nationals of Haiti as immigrants and non-immigrants is hereby suspended.”

Before OPM’s statement yesterday, former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said more clarity was needed. “I support the US decision,” he told The Tribune. “I also support the Haitians having an opportunity to receive their visa. But our country is not well known as the best law enforcement jurisdiction.”

Meanwhile, immigration rights activist Louby Georges cautioned against conflating visa applicants with irregular migrants. “The group is not the same as those who come irregularly,” he said in a social media post. “In fact, if someone has a clear, legal path to safety and better opportunity in the US, there is little reason to think they would want to remain in The Bahamas. While migration remains a serious issue that we must manage, it’s important to separate this category of visitors from that broader concern.”

Haiti has faced severe turmoil since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Armed gangs now control key areas of Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region, fuelling a surge in violent crime and displacing more than a million people.