Actually, he said the Bahamas government has a DUTY to prevent it under international law. The point is that the government should not encourage an atmosphere that excuses hate speech and violent messages against activists. Consider this in the context of Mitchell calling them "Social terrorists" and etc. And, as was pointed out in the presentations, someone stationed at our Embassy in Washington actually threatened them on social media the day before the hearing!

@ispeakthetruth - Well, in the first instance, the current immigration policy contravenes the Bahamas Constitution, in that it denies suspected illegal immigrants the presumption of innocence and the right to due process. It violates the Immigration Act, in that the Act does not allow stop and search procedures, nor raids and roundups. An Immigration officer must ask a person who he or she suspects of being an illegal, in writing, to submit to an interview to ascertain their status. That is what the Act says. And of course, it violates international law on almost every level, as the commissioners pretty much made clear yesterday - detaining children, no due process, no screening for legitimate refugees, overcrowding, no detention as a last resort... and on and on and on...

Well, in the first instance, the current immigration policy contravenes the Bahamas Constitution, in that it denies suspected illegal immigrants the presumption of innocence, the right to due process. It violates the Immigration Act, in that the Act does not allow stop and search procedures, nor raids and roundups. An Immigration officer must ask a person who he or she suspects of being an illegal, in writing, to submit to an interview to ascertain their status. That is what the Act says. And of course, it violates international law on almost every level, as the commissioners pretty much made clear yesterday.

@duppyVAT - that is what everyone said when Smith first announced he would go to Washington. They said the IACHR would laugh at Fred Smith. Now, we see the Commissioners expressing concern and saying they may be coming to Nassau to investigate. Perhaps you don't understand the influence of this commission when it comes to our international reputation. It is a big big deal. A great deal will come of this if the government cannot answer the questions put to it yesterday. And it can't - unless it changes its current immigration policy to conform with both local and international law.

Exactly DonAnthony. It may be a prima facie case, but WE in The Bahamas know that everything our immigration department is doing contravenes international law as outlined by the commission at the hearing. The will not disprove Smith's assertions,because he is right: we DO deny deny due process to immigrants, we DO detain children, we DO house them in overcrowded and inhumane conditions, we DO criminalize undocumented migration, we DO use detention as the first resort, not the last. These are precisely the things the commissioned asked the government to show it wasn't doing, and the government could not. Time and evidence will only disprove the government's stance.

Girly and Birdie, watch it again objectively. I would say Smith scored a resounding victory. The commission didn't pay attention to any of the minister's criticisms of the activists, simply stating that the government has a responsibility to defend them from and prevent any and all attacks on them. They dismissed the government's complaints about the language used by Smith, saying they had not heard it and were concerned about our immigration policy for their own reasons, not because of what the GBHRA has said. They told the government detention can only be a last resort option, not a first resort as we have it now. They told the government they can't detain children anywhere - safe house or not. They asserted, repeatedly, that all immigrants have a guaranteed right to due process - the presumption of innocence, charges, trial, etc - which the Bahamas does not give them. All this is what Smith has been saying all along. The incredible part was that the Bahamas couldn't answer hardly any of the questions put to them on the spot, and the commission asked for the answers in writing. What are we going to say when we in fact do break all the rules the commissioners mentioned? AND the commissioners want to visit and see for themselves. They will visit the shanty towns and hear first hand that we round up people and deport them without trial. Big score for Fred Smith. I don't see any other way to read what happened yesterday.

Shouldn't the effort you mention have started at the border? Isn't doing it the way the government has been doing it actually a violation of our immigration laws, not an effort to uphold them? Aren't these exactly the points the activists have been saying all along? It would seem the international community would agree.

Girly, did you watch the same video as me? The commissioners seemed to have zero time for what Minister Gomez had to say. They all peppered the government with questions that seem to show their concerns are along the same lines as Fred Smith and his crew. They also warned the government to stop harassing the human rights advocates. I would say Smith won a huge victory. If you don't believe me, go watch other hearings - it is rare where the IAHCR is so stern with a government.

What a bunch of nonsense has been spoken in these comments. DillyTree, you are the only person with social maturity here. Does anyone here have a problem with African Americans organizing into a politically influential bloc in the USA? Does that make black Americans unpatriotic? What about a political block in the US advocating for women's rights? Is anyone here really upset that the hold on American politics by old, white men is slowly being broken? How is this any different? All this is so petty and hypocritical. People in a democracy have freedom of association. As long as they are citizens and can vote, they can form any bloc, pressure group or party that they want. A Haitian-Bahamian party would add greatly to the plurality and quality of debate in this country. Grow up and stop being so scared of everything.

Couldn't agree more Economist and CatIslandBoy - instead of focusing on poor and suffering people whose motivation in coming to this country was to find a better life, why don't we focus on the Bahamian human smugglers, corrupt Immigration and Defence Force officers, and shifty politicians who have made this possible? Unfortunately, we are not a mature country, and so like spoiled children, all we do is look for someone other than ourselves to blame for our problems.