Hon. Fred Mitchell
NASSAU, Bahamas, Dec 19, CMC – The Bahamas government Friday continued to defend its new immigration policy as demonstrators in the United States announce plans for a protest outside the Office of the Consulate General of the Caribbean country.
“Bahamians travelling to Miami should be aware that the civic authorities in Miami have notified our Consulate General that a demonstration is to be held in Miami near the Consulate to protest the immigration policies of The Bahamas government,” according to an official statement issued here.
The policy which came into effect on November 1 calls on foreigners to show evidence that they have permission to live or work in the country.
The Perry Christie government said it had been informed by the Federal Authorities in the United States “that they will take all the security precautions that are necessary to ensure the safety and security of our personnel in Miami and all who are visiting the Consulate.
“The demonstration is …reportedly to be led by an anti Bahamian Florida legislator,” the government sid, as it urged Bahamians “to proceed with caution while in Miami during this period.
“There are two further demonstrations planned at the airport and the seaport,” it added.
“It continues to be the position of the government that the demonstrations are ill conceived and misdirected and that the leader of the demonstration does not understand or have her basic facts right on the matter and is proceeding on a false premise,” the statement said.
Earlier this week, Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell in an address to the Organization of American States (OAS) said that he wanted to debunk the allegations made against the new policy, noting that the reputation of The Bahamas was being tarnished.
“Nothing is more important to us than that in the international arena, whether in the hemisphere or in the sub region or around the world. Reputation is everything. The respect which we have around the world depends upon our reputation.”
He said that the policies were contained in a one page document which advised the public that work permit applications would not be accepted for those people who did not have legal status in The Bahamas without them first being certified as being seen by one of our consular officers in their home country or in the nearest office to their home country.
He said the government had also decided that all non-nationals who live in The Bahamas would have to get and hold the passport of their nationality and obtain a residency permit, which would be evidence that they have the right to live and work in The Bahamas.
“These policies should not have been a surprise to anyone. The political party to which I belong announced that we would be perusing immigration reforms prior to our election to office in 2012. We announced that changes were coming in policies in the first budget debate following the general election in 2012.”
