Left to right: Louby Georges, Joseph Darville, Fred Smith QC, and Paco Nunez.

WASHINGTON, DC - The following is a statement by the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA):

Bahamian human rights activists held talks with US Department of State officials yesterday concerning the human rights violations being committed under the government’s new immigration enforcement policy.

Representatives of the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) met with officers from the Caribbean/Latin American Desk; the Bureau of Population, Refuges and Migration; and the Policy and Planning section of the Office of the Secretary of State.

GBHRA members told of mass immigration raids and roadblocks carried out in direct violation of the fundamental rights and protections enshrined in the Bahamas Constitution; hundreds of cases of wrongful detention, illegal deportation and a total breakdown of due process; and claims of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers.

On Friday, the GBHRA will appear before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to give testimony.