My conscience is clear..no worries there. I am simply stating a fact. You are the one who seems to be suffering from some emotional trauma. If you want your emotions to run wild with fantasies of kids being "targeted" and demonizing a basic law that most countries have...be my guest.

Did you read and comprehend what you were reading? Children are not being targeted. They are being required to have the necessary paperwork needed to attend school in a foreign country. Countries do this. This is not a novel Bahamian approach designed specifically for Haitians.

We get it Economist. It's the government's fault. Neither administration gets a pass on the problems they created. But neither should the illegal immigrant or their offsprings.

"Many of "these people" are the children of immigrants who were born in this country, and who have lived and worked here all their lives."

And...?
Many of them are in The Bahamas illegally, and as such they should be subject to repatriation. There is no statute of limitations on being an illegal immigrant; as there should not be. However, those who lived and were born in the Bahamas prior to 1985 are granted citizenship. That is fair. More than fair.

Why should the Bahamas take on more than its resources can allow because people, such as Mr. Symonette buried their heads in the sand and allowed the problem to persist, and compound? And now he is essentially bragging about the great humanitarians he and the FNM were at the expense of the Bahamian public.

For all of you who cry foul, please explain how the Bahamas can possibly sustain the numbers of illegal immigrants and their offspring without pretending as if they are not a drain on the limited resources of the country. I think the Bahamas, and Bahamians, have been as compassionate and empathetic as they can be and it really needs to end. Maybe then the US and other world leaders may step in and assist...as they should have been doing all along.

This article gives Frances Robles too much credit. She is clearly not detailed. Experienced news hawk? Her article was rife with rookie mistakes. One would expect better of a New York Times writer.

She essentially claimed citizenship was being taken away from Bahamian citizens. Not true. She recounted stories, some of which were previously debunked partially, or in full, in the Bahamian media. There was clearly little research. She could not even say, "they declined to comment" on the accusations because she clearly made no attempt at having a balanced piece.

I think we are all aware that Haitians risking their lives to come to the Bahamas is not a casual carefree adventure, and most of us sympathize with that. But sometimes our altruistic desires, are limited by the reality of our resources, or the capabilities of carrying them out. We elect our politicians and government officials, to make the hard decisions - such as this one - for us. And we expect them to make decisions in the best interest of the country, and not their bleeding heart desires.

However, as individuals, you, me or whoever is still free to assist Haiti, Haitians in whatever way we choose...the government has not, cannot, ban anyone or organization from doing that.

...or perhaps a passport. Sounds like most modern, democratic countries to me.

With the average BGCSE grade being a "D", perhaps lower, would they really be missing out on an education? The current quality of education received does not translate into a future filled with intellects, professionals, low crime, peace and love between between legals and illegals. Part of this problem stems from overcrowded classrooms, that stems from illegal immigration.

With that said, should illegal immigrant kids be denied an education while they are on Bahamian soil? I say "no". If in the beginning however, the new rules only serve to identify illegals for later processing and repatriation...it's better than the nothing that existed before. If persons decide to keep their kids out of school for this reason, they are the ones denying them this basic human right. Anyone who lives in any country illegally, should know or assume that one way or another they would be identified and repatriated.

On another note, whenever opponents of the new immigration policies speak, in particular politicians, it would be helpful for those of us who support them to hear an alternative plan that does not assume:
i. unlimited resources: jobs, classroom space, medical care, etc.
ii. call for immediate inaction, because of assumed mistreatment or targeting of Haitians.
Because Haitians are the largest group of illegals in the Bahamas, they will alwats appear to be a target.

Nobody is encouraging lengthy detentions for anyone, but this is clearly a one-off.

His human rights, as far as we know (unless you know otherwise) were not violated. Was he denied food, tortured, deprived of legal counsel, medical treatment, etc? Remanding a suspected illegal immigrant or Bahamian suspected of a crime, until their identity can be confirmed is not an international human rights violation.

The story is actually about Daphne Campbell...the headline implies as much.

The question is why did this man not take some responsibility for himself, and have his documents ready? He was not illegally detained. He had no documents to prove his legal status and it seems he left it up to the immigration officials to prove his case for him. If the process had to be started from scratch, birth certificates, affidavits, etc...it will take a while. I waited for weeks for just a copy of my own birth certificate in 2013. Our infrastructure and resources are clearly nowhere in the big leagues - you seem to forget that fact.

What happened to this man is unfortunate but these things happen especially in a third world country - such as The Bahamas. I'm sure some of the folks at Fox Hill Prison can relate. By the way, where is the outrage and claims of human rights abuses on their behalf?

So we go after just the smugglers, corrupt immigration officers and politicians. Then what do we do with the illegal Haitian population left behind? We understand that Haitians came for a better life, but they still broke the law. However, we should just make them all legal, no consequence for their actions? That Voltaire is how spoiled children are created.