A Bahamasair plane carrying 62 Haitian nationals landed in Port au Prince late Tuesday after the Philip Davis government continued its crackdown on illegal migrants on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
‘The government as always has given the immigration department a mandate to arrest and detain all individuals who are in breach of the Immigration Act,’ said Assistant Director at the Department of Immigration, Chad Adams, as the Haitians including 48 men and 14 women, boarded the flight. He said the deportation on Tuesday is a ‘result of a consistent operation and exercise, not only here in New Providence but across the commonwealth.
‘These are individuals that have come out of Grand Bahama, Exuma, Eleuthera, even as far down as Inagua, and also in Bimini and Abaco. You will notice also that this may be a kind of small amount, but it’s because we’re keeping those numbers down in the detention center,’ Adams said, adding ‘we’ve been repatriating over and over to ensure that the numbers stay down and we don’t have overcrowding.’
Earler this week, the Immigration Department received 50 people from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) following an interdiction at sea, and those individuals are scheduled to be repatriated soon.
Minister of State for Immigration Darron Pickstock, who wasat the Lynden Pindling International Airport, said the government wwould be very vigilant about work permit renewals, adding ‘we just want to emphasize the importance of employers ensuring that they have renewed their employees’ work permit on time.
‘The major issue that we are seeing is overstay, whether it is overstaying your visitor’s visa or just overstaying when your work permit is not renewed,’ he said, adding ‘if you overstay, there is a likelihood that you will be repatriated if you’re caught.’
Pickstock said that the government has stepped up repatriation efforts over the last few months as part of the Davis administration’s mandate and that he expects immigration officers to be firm but fair.
‘I was very clear about our role and duties as immigration officers, which is one, not to abuse anyone in our custody, so we are also firm on that position as well. We will be fair in carrying out our duties.’