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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
"New Bahamian Immigration Policy Raises Serious Human Rights Concerns"
By Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights
Nov 8, 2014 - 2:42:38 AM
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(November 7, 2014 ) Washington, D.C. - Kerry Kennedy and Santiago A. Canton, on behalf of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), express alarm at the discriminatory use of new immigration policies in The Bahamas. According to information received by the RFK Center, immigration officials conducted massive raids and arrests in Bahamian-Haitian communities over the weekend of November 1-2 and have increased their presence around public schools with large populations of students born to immigrant parents.
On November 1, The Bahamas instituted a new immigration policy that requires all non-nationals residing in the island nation to show evidence that they have permission to live or work in the country. Under the Constitution, children born in Bahamian territory to foreign-born parents are eligible for Bahamian citizenship when they turn 18; until that time, under the new policy, they must obtain a passport from their parents’ country of origin. According to reports from Bahamian civil society, children born in The Bahamas to migrant parents were given 30 days’ notice to apply for and secure a passport from the country of origin of their parents or face expulsion, despite the significant financial burdens this new policy imposes and with no consideration for an ordinary processing time of over two months to secure a passport in some cases.
While the government of The Bahamas insists that the measures are not aimed at any national group, Bahamian civil society organizations have related that officials are targeting immigration raids at neighborhoods where the population is predominantly of Haitian descent. The RFK Center received a report of at least one government-run school that, as of Monday, started to require students to bring their identification with them in order to access the classroom.
“Statehood is a fundamental human right, but these reports indicate that the Bahamian government regards it as a tool for discrimination,” said Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Center. “These new policies mean that thousands of children in the Bahamas now live in fear of arbitrary arrest or deportation. The Bahamas must immediately fulfill its obligation to protect children—no matter their status, and no matter their ethnicity.”
Media reports indicate that about seventy people were detained over the weekend, but Bahamian civil society puts the number closer to 450, and describes detention conditions as overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation. Many of those detained on Saturday, November 1, were forced to remain in custody until the immigration office reopened on Monday and they could prove their valid status. Many were not provided the opportunity to seek legal counsel, apply for asylum, or appeal their deportation orders.
“The reports coming out of The Bahamas indicate that the government is endangering the human rights of people in immigration detention, including the right to due process and the rights to humane treatment and health,” said Santiago A. Canton, Executive Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights. “The government must immediately bring its immigration policies and practices in line with its binding international human rights obligations.”
The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights (RFK Center) was founded in 1968 by Robert Kennedy's family and friends as a living memorial to carry forward his vision of a more just and peaceful world. RFK Partners for Human Rights engages in strategic long-term partnerships with RFK Human Rights Award Laureates and other civil society activists, providing sustained advocacy, litigation, and capacity-building support to grassroots leaders to advance social justice movements around the globe.
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© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com
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