NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government has given illegal migrants until year end to regularise their stay in the country or face deportation.
Wrapping up debate on the Speech from the Throne, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said his administration will continue to fulfil the mandate of addressing and stamping out corruption and that the government would be paying closer attention to immigration issues in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
“Those migrants who are here illegally must leave by December 31, 2017 after which they will be aggressively pursued and deported,” Minnis told legislators.
He said this warning applied to all nationalities and warned Bahamians and residents who continue to employ those illegal migrants that his administration would not turn a blind eye to their actions.
He said he was also giving them until year end “to regularise these individuals or stop employing them.
“I don’t think that some people understand when you are legally entitled to citizenship but you do not have the proper documents and as was pointed out you cannot open a bank account, you cannot travel, you have difficulty entering the University of the Bahamas…you are placed in no man’s land,” he told legislators, adding “until you live it you don’t understand”.
In his response, Minnis said that his administration would be putting much emphasis on dealing with the crime situation here and would also not be following the past policies of the Perry Christie administration as they relate to developing the local economy.
“We have created an Economic Council of the Bahamas which is providing advice on job creation and growth which are critical to economic recovery. An ease of doing business committee has been appointed. Its mandate is to make specific recommendations to make it easier to do business in the country for Bahamians and foreign investors,” Minnis said. – CMC
