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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahama - House Of Assembly Contribution to the Immigration
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 by Hon. Hubert Chipman, MP, St. Anne’s Wednesday
March 11, 2015:
Mr. Speaker,
Before I begin my contribution with your permission, I would like extend condolences to several families in my constituency. First to Dr. Michael and Sandra Neville on the death of their son Sean, to the Children of Julian Newchurch on the death of their father and to the Munnings family on the passing of the brother Dale Munnings. Mr. Speaker, I would also like extend condolences to Mrs. Velma Thompson your aunt Mr. Speaker on the death of her son Theo this past Saturday. Mr. Speaker death leaves a heartache no can heal, love leaves a memory no one steal. May God grant them the peace to know that He is the God of love and He will forever be their comforter. May the souls of all the dearly departed rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon him.
Mr. Speaker,
This bill before us provide for an Act to amend the Immigration Act to provide for the publication of a policy on the exercise of Ministerial discretion, the establishment of an Immigration Reserve Corps, the establishment of a Detention Centre and for connected matters. Mr. Speaker the real crux of this Bill is how we deal with resident belongers permit. I am told and it was said by the Director of Immigration in one of the dallies that this issue was being dealt with on a case by case basis. Mr. Speaker, this was simply because no laws was in place.
Mr. Speaker,
At the outset let me say the Free National Movement supports the Government’s new Immigration Policy with regards to illegal migration. The Government announced its new policy on September 17, 2014 in this House. The proposal was to take effect from November 1, 2014. It was said at the time, that and I quote “we are allowing a period of time for comments before proceeding with a formal proposal in this regard. The intention is to have new regulations or policies in place on this subject by January 1, 2014”end of quote. Well Mr. Speaker, January 1st has come and gone now we finally have something to debate on the belongers permit. Shortly after the announcement I said in a press release that I thought Government was putting the cart before the horse considering that it was not debated in Parliament and government does not have the necessary structure in place to effectively facilitate the process and other administrative measures. Mr. Speaker, the Minister said sometime in November according to the press announcement that come the next school year non-Bahamians would require a stamp in their passport in order to attend school. He later came back and said that “The question of who gets into school and who does not is a matter for the Ministry of Education. However, the law is clear that every non-national has to have a residency permit to be in The Bahamas.” I thought at the time how strange. The Director of Education then said that children would be allowed to attend school. Who should we believe Mr. Speaker?
While we are on record as supporting the policy with regard to illegal migration, we also said at the time that the process should done in a humane way. This was reiterated by our Leader in a press statement. In retrospect, there have been numerous claims of abuse made by detainees. If these claims are correct, we cannot and will not support such acts. We live in a time where EVERY human life is regarded in high esteem, therefore the lives of illegal immigrants should be no different. This not only affects us as a country but weakens the trust placed in governments to protect and serve us. It also affects us internationally. We have signed a number of treaties and agreements internationally that put a specific focus on the treatment and regard for human life. Therefore, we must act accordingly. Haitian Bahamian and other legal migrants like Bahamians, know that our boarder must be vigorously protected, and those that are here illegally must be apprehended and repatriated. But those that are here legitimately, must be fully embraced and integrated into the fabric of our country.
Mr. Speaker,
Successive governments are responsible for where we are today with regard to illegal immigrants. Therefore, if we are to deal with this issue, we have to look at the facts as they are.
FACTS
1. The large territorial waters and porous borders of The Bahamas archipelago create a huge challenge for those responsible for policing it.
2. The Bahamas has an unsustainable number of illegal immigrants from many countries; however the majority of them seem to come from Haiti.
3. There is a huge back log of applications from persons born after 9th July 1973 to foreign born parents.
4. There are a significant number of foreign born individuals with Bahamian parents waiting to be granted Bahamians citizenship.
5. There is frustration among Bahamians concerning the large illegal population and there is frustration among persons born after 9th July, 1973 who have been waiting as much as 5-10 years to be regularized.
Mr. Speaker,
GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE
1. The Government has failed to secure our borders. They are now in the process of securing new defense boats to meet this challenge
2. The Government has failed to address the backlog of applications from children born to foreign parents, and foreign born children of Bahamian parents.
3. The Government has failed to ensure that persons being deported who may have some legitimate claim in the future are properly furnished with the necessary documents prior to their repatriation. There is no system to allow a Bahamian document to be obtained in the country that they are being deported to.
4. The Government has failed to advance any Policy or practice that would help to properly integrate new Bahamian citizens especially those who are non-English speaking.
5. The Government has failed to introduce any Policy that would offer stiffer penalties for repeat offenders of our Immigration policies.
6. The Government has failed to apply our Immigration Policy fairly across the board to avoid any group of persons feeling especially targeted.
7. The Government has failed to investigate complaints in a timely fashion, thus promoting a lack of transparency and faith in its ability to do so.
8. The Government has failed to computerize the Immigration Department to the extent that an immigrant’s status can be determined in a few minutes once his/or her proper identity has been determined. This also applies to persons who produce a receipt from the Department when they are stopped on the streets.
Mr. Speaker,
We are at the cross roads so I support the Government in efforts to implement its new policies. Now to the Bill at hand. Mr. Speaker, while I support the Government’s intent. However, I believe there should be some revisions to the proposed amendments if we are to be fair to all concern.
Mr. Speaker,
Clause 3 of the bill suggest the insertion of a new section 6A into the principal Act to empower the Board to delegate to the Minister the authority to grant permanent residence certification. Mr. Speaker, the question I have is who is the Board? Is it the Cabinet of the Bahamas? If it is, they are transferring a lot of power to the Minister. Would this transfer help with the backlog of application? Will the Minister be available to make these decisions on a regular basis?
Clause 5 of the bill amends section 9 of the principal Act that for the first time now give an Immigration Officer the power of arrest of a Bahamian or a permanent resident. Prior to this insertion the Act said that any person other than a citizen of the Bahamas or Permanent Resident an officer had the power of arrest. While section 47 was also amended and 47A was added concerning the harboring of illegal person. Mr. Speaker, I was under the impression that we always had laws covering harboring illegal persons or prisoners. A Bahamian or a Permanent Resident should never have to deal with the immigration unless entering the Bahamas.
Mr. Speaker,
Clause 6 call for the insertion of Part 111A into the principal Act to establish and provide for an Immigration Reserve. Mr. Speaker, while the Reservist can be mobilized by the Director of Immigration with the prior approval of the Governor-General and the guideline is one have to be 18 years and a citizen. Is there an age limit for serving? What is the remuneration before mobilization? Will there be proper coverage of occupational hazardous for the Reservist? i.e. Insurance. Mr. Speaker, where are the regulations for the Reservist? All of these things needs to be addressed prior to passing this Bill Mr. Speaker. We have to get this right. Let this not be like the other Reserve.
Mr. Speaker,
Clause 7 is a very important amendment to this Bill. This clause amends section 13 of the principal Act to provide for the grant of a permanent residence certificate to a minor entitled to under the constitution to be registered as a citizen. Well Mr. Speaker, something have to be wrong with that. Mr. Speaker, under Clause 14A it give the right to Permanent Residence to a divorced person or a person separated as long is that person can prove that marriage subsided for a period of five year.
Mr. Speaker,
Whereas under the new section 30A, (a) the bill speaks to grant of resident belonger permit to a person born in the Bahamas to a non-Bahamian parents and who is entitled to apply for registration as citizen under Article 7 of the Constitution is residing permanently in the Bahamas at the time the application is made.
30A (b) states that a person born legitimately outside The Bahamas to a Bahamian mother who is married to a non-Bahamian father and
30(c) states that a person born outside to a father who is citizen of The Bahamas by virtue of Article 3(2) or Article 8 of the constitution and who is married to a non-Bahamian has a right to apply for Resident Belonger Permit.
Mr. Speaker, why is that? Have we abundant the gender equality bill? The Regulations states that the Belonger permit will be issued for a period of three years. Why is that? Are we creating another backlog up at Immigration? Mr. Speaker, the Government haven’t dealt with all the belongers that were here prior to July 9, 1973. Mr. Speaker, I believe it would be simpler if these group of persons be issued Permanent Resident like the person in section 13 & 14. Mr. Speaker, issuing Belonger Permit only creates another level of bureaucracy and backlog. Mr. Speaker, some individual have applied prior to the new policy. Do they need to reapply? Mr. Speaker, what about the children who were born in The Bahamas but was repatriated with their parents? Do we know who they are? According to the constitution they have rights too. What happen if they return to The Bahamas at age 17 or 18? Do they have the right to apply to be registered as a citizen or entitle to apply for a Belonger Permit? Mr. Speaker before these children are repatriated they should be properly documented. i.e. finger printed. Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of questions that needs to be answered prior to the passage of this bill concerning Belongers Permits.
Mr. Speaker,
I cannot agree with clause 17 section 32A that give the Minister the discretionary powers to formulate and implement a sector policy without consultation. Mr. Speaker, I believe this is dangerous. I firmly believe this should be dealt with through the cabinet and then parliament if necessary. Best practice dictates otherwise. Mr. Speaker when we consider the new immigration policy it appears to me that this was not well thought out. As it stands now most people don’t understand what’s going. The government website is not properly maintained now, so to post something on the site after a policy is implemented does not help anybody. Mr. Speaker, the Bahamian public can’t even pull up a bill that’s been debated in this House.
Mr. Speaker,
As for section 32A fraudulent marriages, I have no difficulty with supporting this insertion.
Mr. Speaker,
Clause 18 amends section 45 of the principal Act to empower the Minister to establish by regulation a detention center for detainees at one or more locations within the The Bahamas. Mr. Speaker, I spoke about this during the mid-year budget debate. By now we should have had a proper Detention Centre in Inagua along with several boats patrolling the passage and our borders. Poachers and illegal migrants are having field a day out there in our waters. With a detention centre in Inagua, we would able to process illegal immigrants and repatriate them to their homeland. Rather than transporting them all the way to Nassau. This would certainly bring the cost of repatriation down. The Minister spoke about his Ministry being out of money during the mid- year budget debate. We could fix that Mr. Speaker. While on the subject of the detention center, the government has to implement a system where illegal immigrants are repatriated within 10-14 days of been apprehended. While I understand proper approval have be received from the various embassies. The present center is overcrowded and we must be careful with health issue. I would also recommend that some type of medical facility be built and a doctor stationed at the center. Mr. Speaker, as for reported abuse, could the Minister inform this House when the Cuban report will be completed. It has been over two and a half years since that incidence. Mr. Speaker, the world will continue to watch up.
Mr. Speaker,
The policy needs to be tweaked and it infringes on the rights of many as it was rush without thoughtful consideration. As you are aware, we are a nation that is govern by Law, not by policy. In conclusion, I propose adequate and proper measures put into place to deal with this new policy. Mr. Speaker, as you and many others will agree the policy have caused some great concerns both locally and internationally.
As I stated earlier, introducing the policy was putting “the cart before the horse” considering the government does not have the necessary structure in place to effectively facilitate the Belongers Permit process and other administrative measures.
I thank you Mr. Speaker.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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