By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
FOUR Jamaican women, known as the “Mango Season Girls,” were arrested last month for working illegally in the country as a part of government operations to stamp out illegal immigration, Immigration Minister Keith Bell revealed in the House of Assembly yesterday.
The women have since been charged, deported and placed on the restricted list, Mr Bell added.
He said their detainment came after officers raided a number of “dancing clubs” as a part of a wider operation to crack down on foreigners living in The Bahamas without the necessary documentation.
“Investigations indicate that some of these clubs illegally employ persons who enter the country as a visitor and also overstay the time granted by immigration to remain in the country,” he said during his communication in the House of Assembly.
In a separate matter, he revealed that officers found a number of irregular migrants, one of whom was found with a fraudulent work permit.
The minister then spoke about recent migrant vessel interceptions and pointed to last month’s apprehension of nearly 400 migrants who were spotted in waters near Cay Sal Bank.
Among those apprehended were some 55 children. They were later turned over to the RBDF and sent to Inagua for processing.
“Madame Speaker, in that voyage were some 55 minor children, the largest number of migrant children ever in the history of all of these treacherous voyages,” he said.
“Additionally, Madame Speaker, I want to pause to just highly commend the United States Coast Guard for their intuition and for their high skill and for the job that they continue to do to assist us.
“it is impossible, Madame Speaker, for us, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and our law enforcement agencies to police our waters - and so there is a collaborative effort to ensure that we stop all of these migrant vessels.”
Repatriation exercises also remain ongoing with over 300 migrants deported in the last several days, according to Minister Bell.
He also gave an assurance that every foreigner was treated humanely.
The increase in illegal migration to The Bahamas follows months of civil unrest and political turmoil in Haiti after its President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home by armed men in July 2021.
Local officials have already said that no new work permits will be processed for Haitians until revised protocols are introduced to ensure the authenticity of documents produced by Haiti’s government.
Additionally, existing and new permits to reside applications for Haitian citizens will only be considered on a case-by-case basis.
In response to some who suggest that actions taken by the government unfairly targets Haitians, Mr Bell said this: “Let me assure everyone that this is not the case.
“The policies being introduced are not designed to discriminate against any national group, but rather to address legitimate concerns regarding the documents released by the Haitian government having regard to the actions of the Haitian national police and the departure from office of Haiti’s last remaining senators.”
“In light of all these circumstances, at this time, the Department of Immigration is not able to have full confidence in character and other certificates issued by the Haitian national police and other government entities.
“Madame Speaker, the Bahamas maintains a strict regulatory framework for the review and processing of all immigration applications. This is the only process by which persons are permitted to enter The Bahamas.
“This Davis-led administration is resolute in its commitment to protect the territorial sovereignty of The Bahamas.”