NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Immigration Keith Bell advised yesterday that the government is considering amending the Immigration Act to allow law enforcement officers to repatriate migrants at sea.
Bell made the revelation to reporters outside the House of Assembly when asked about the recent uptick in interdictions.
“We have seen a steady flow,” he said.
“The idea and objective is to ensure we repatriate as quickly as possible and to ensure that they know they are going to be intercepted and they are going to be returned to their country.
“I think that is the most preventative effective measure that we can do and that’s exactly what we are doing.”
He noted that he met with his executive team this week regarding the way forward on the matter.
“One of the things I asked them is we have to collaborate more and determine with the help of Royal Bahamas Defense Force and Ministry of National Security on whether we ought to be repatriating at sea once they are intercepted,” Bell said.
“The United States does it. We spent $250 million on those vessels and upgrading our bases in our last administration and I believe the time has come for us to now begin repatriating at sea.”
The immigration minister noted that his team has made several recommendations to the Attorney General’s Office and will be making more with of view of strengthening the enforcement components of the immigration law.
On Friday, 118 Haitian nationals were spotted in waters northeast of Eleuthera and later apprehended by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, according to authorities.
The 95 men, 21 women, and two minors were turned over to the Department of Immigration.
This was the third interdictions exercise in recent weeks.
Last week Wednesday, 11 Cubans and a Haitian were apprehended as they disembarked a vessel off Chub Cay.
Another 51 Haitians were taken into custody after being tracked on a vessel in waters near Savannah Sound, Eleuthera.
On December 31, another 66 Haitians were spotted onboard a vessel near Anguilla Cay and picked up by authorities.
Over the holiday season, more than 74 Haitians were detained — 21 on Long Island and 43 on South Andros.
Bell said yesterday that there have been pockets of migrants particularly from Haiti and Cuba that have been intercepted by both the U.S. Coastguard as well as our defense force, though he could not give the exact number at the time.
“We have repatriated a number of them already to Haiti and we are in the process of communicating with the government of Cuba to make sure they are repatriated in a timely matter,” he added.
“We stand committed to ensure that we protect The Bahamas for the interest of Bahamians and we intend to do that throughout this year. As they come, we intend to ensure we send them back immediately.”
