Bahamian Authorities to Deport Close to 300 Haitians

Haitian immigration to the Bahamas is “annoying and expensive,” according to Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell in a statement to the House of Representatives. The latest hostile remarks follow last week’s announcement that the Bahamas will deport almost 300 Haitian nationals, a further sign of Bahamas’ tough immigration policy.

“Instead of spending money on ports, roads or airports, we have to spend on trying to deport illegal immigrants to their homes,” he said.

In November 2014, Bahamian legislators passed a controversial immigration law which requires legal immigrants to walk with their passports at all times.

It also states that the government would not issue work or other permits for undocumented migrants.

At the time, the law was criticized internationally as being xenophobic and discriminatory towards a people from the poorest country in the hemisphere.

According to the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM), about 5,000 registered Haitian migrant workers are in the country, supporting 13,000 dependent family members.

The Organisation adds that between 20,000 and 50,000 undocumented Haitians live in the Bahamas.

For many years, Haitians have fled their country in search of jobs, education for their children and a better standard of living. The country has suffered decades of political fighting, a number of coup d’etats and interventions by the international community.

In January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook the country to its core, claiming over 160,000 lives and leaving behind mass destruction.

Financial, political and economic crises have left behind a population desperately seeking a better way of life and in search of a more promising future for its young.

Brazil was one of the first countries to offer Haitian migrants humanitarian visas.

A few Caribbean islands have large Haitian populations. In the Commonwealth of Dominica for example, the Haitian-born nationals are the main migrant population. There is also a Haitian-Dominica Friendship Association.

While some countries have offered levels of protection to Haitian nationals, others have recently been chastised for their “inhumane” treatment of Haitians.

In 2013, the Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic ruled that people born to undocumented immigrants were not guaranteed citizenship. The ruling was retroactive and affected people of Haitian descent born in Dominican Republic as far back as 1929. According to the IOM, about 500,000 Haitian immigrants live in the Dominican Republic, according to the United Nations.

Haitians have also had a tough time in the Bahamas.

The latest announcement by the Bahamian Minister of Immigration has once again thrust the plight of Haitians back into the spotlight. The Bahamian government has continuously denied allegations that the country’s legislation targets Haitians.