By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
SCHOOL administrators will be able to “provisionally accept” children of non-nationals who do not have a school permit required for the fall semester, Acting Immigration Director William Pratt told The Tribune yesterday.
Mr Pratt said schools will be able to accept students without a permit with the caveat that their parents have until the end of the school year, for example, to comply with the requirement. His comment came as questions persist over how the policy will be enforced.
Officials yesterday said the permit requirement will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and is not “black and white.”
“I spoke to faculty at R M Bailey (High School) and told them that if someone shows up without a permit (next semester), encourage that person to regularise their status in the Bahamas,” Mr Pratt said.
“Give them a provisional acceptance that says you could stay for a particular length of time. For example, a school may decide that the child should be able to show by the end of the first term that they have an application for a school permit into the department and by the end of the second term they should be able to show documentary proof that they have a permit.”
Mr Pratt insisted that there are ways to ensure compliance with the policy that does not involve barring non-nationals from accessing education.
“The minister (of foreign affairs and immigration) made it clear that he will not interfere with education,” he said. “And education officials have made it clear that they will consider international protocols that all children under the age of 16 be in school. I would think education (officials) would be able to inform the parents that we’ve given the child a provisional entry and will, maybe, give you to the end of the year to make the child comply. There are ways to make these children comply. If you go to college to get a degree, and you owe the university money, what they do if you don’t pay? They prevent you from registering until you pay, they prevent you from seeing your grades and they do other kinds of things to really push you to pay.”
However, when asked what specific measures education officials might employ to make sure students in grade schools comply with the law, he referred The Tribune to education officials but stressed: “(The Department of Immigration) will never go into the schools and pick children up.”
Mr Pratt said children who lack a school permit because their parents are in the country illegally might be apprehended and repatriated along with their parents – but not necessarily.
“We have to cross that bridge when we reach there,” he said. “As it stands right now, we may pick up a migrant who is here illegally. We deal with them on a case-by-case basis, because, for instance, the illegal mother may have been here for 10 years and doesn’t have anything. We may try regularising her if she is married to a Haitian that has a permit to be here. If we pick up an illegal and she doesn’t have anything and no ties here, however, we will have to make a determination as to who will be deported. But certainly we will work with people that have documentary evidence of being here for a long time.”
“We just want to know who is in the country and make sure the laws are being followed,” Mr Pratt added. “Based on what we’ve seen, a lot of children may be here illegally. The child’s mother and father may not be married, but the father may be here lawfully. The child may therefore remain if the father is here legally, but the mother might be repatriated. We have come across a number of cases in which one of the parents is here legally. In fact, rarely (do) you come across a case where neither parent has status. In case of the aforementioned example, the father has the right to apply to have legal right of the child and could apply for the child to get lawful residence permission to remain in the country.”
Meanwhile, when asked yesterday to respond to DNA Leader Branville McCartney’s criticism that officials have given inconsistent comments in relation to the new policy, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell said he is not aware of any contradiction.
Mr McCartney’s statement came after Prime Minister Perry Christie told the Nassau Guardian that despite the move to enforce the school permit policy, no child will be denied an education.
“People think that policy is all black and white,” Mr Mitchell said in response to the criticism. “But no, the generality of the policy is black and white but every case has to be handled on an individual basis. The general position is that everyone has to have a permit. Parents have an obligation to ensure their children have what is necessary to get an education.”
Comments
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Why do we continue to find excuses for people who do not comply with our laws??????? Everone who enters a public school must present certain documents .......... you should not be registered without those documnets ........ immunization card, birth certificate, passport, proof of parentage/guardianship, permanent address etc. This is nothing new ..... just another form of verification of identity. Are there a lot of illegal immigrants in private schools???
If the child is illegal ............ it means that the parent(s) have broken a law. If the parent(s) must be deported, the child must go with them. What's the BIG DEAL???????????
jackbnimble 9 years, 2 months ago
I agree. They keep watering down the policy. Must be lots of international pressure or something.
Economist 9 years, 2 months ago
Immigration has enough trouble processing the regular renewals that it has now (can take 4 to 6 months).
They probably know that they are not in a position to do all of the students by the opening of school.
GrassRoot 9 years, 2 months ago
I guess to duppyVAT or MadHatter, whoever believed the other day, Bahamians have no money outside the country, check out the Nassau Guardian today. so 51 Bahamian passport holders hold more than USD 7 Billion Dollars in accounts with ONE bank in Switzerland? Aren't these people required to report foreign assets to the Central Bank? I wonder whether they did, we all know one or two naturalized Bahamians that had a lot of money to begin with at the time they became Bahamians. But the rest? So if a portion of that money were in the Bahamas, injected into our economy as working capital, that would create jobs and would spare us from being cheap on Haitians immigrants, and would spare us from Union leaders asking for 350 BSD minimum wage. If only the government/s would finally start to create an environment that would entice these wealthy Bahamians to invest the money here, we all could be very happy people again, with good education, well paying jobs, young Bahamian entrepreneurs coming up with great ideas, production. A land where milk and honey are flowing.
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Sooooooooo who are they??? Brent, Snake, Brave?????? or are these paper Bahamians ............ like Nygard, Izmirlian etc???????????
GrassRoot 9 years, 2 months ago
passport holders - not residents. Don't think Nygard is citizen.
IslandTransPlant 9 years, 2 months ago
Didi you proof read this before you posted this isht not shit ish stop watchng other peoples money and do you beleive everthing you read I dout if there is two nartrual born bahamians that's has a billon and if there is it's most likely the last two thiveing MP's, don't beleive the hyp your government has the country in the situation that your in by, not creating a better economy for the nation.
birdiestrachan 9 years, 2 months ago
Mr. Pratt a whole lot of the illegal problems lie right in the immigration department. the immigration department and many Immigration Officers are in need of some serious reform,
PKMShack 9 years, 2 months ago
international laws covers a lot more than the government mentions. You want outside money you follow the rules. Mitchell talked big to gain support but he knew what he was saying would not happen, why you think he sent a mouth piece to make this announcement. Even the U.S. don't block education to the Mexicans who parents are their without the proper status. @ grassrooot With the current work force, bad customer service, union driven power to cave in any business WHY SHOULD I INVEST MY MONEY HERE AT HOME? No Thank you. Like it or not it is what it is. Worst of all I would have to be in my business as an employee to make sure my merchandise does not walk out of the door
birdiestrachan 9 years, 2 months ago
My understanding of what Mr. Pratt said is if one is in the Country illegally and they can hide out for a long time they will be made legal. What in his view a long time?. So one can come illegally hid out and Immigration will make you legal, Only in the BAHAMAS. Now one can see why they continue to come. Most of us did not know this but the illegals did. .
duppyVAT 9 years, 2 months ago
Yes Birdie ............... ur beginning to see the light.
ispeakthetruth 9 years, 2 months ago
Sounds like they're softening.
He seemed pretty clear on legalizing the woman who is here illegally for 10 years, but married to someone with a permit. This woman should be deported, and made to renter legally as the spouse of the permit holder. Why reward someone for breaking the law, by regularizing them?
And why is there any question on the deportation of the woman in the second scenario? I was not aware of a statute of limitations on illegal immigration. Why is a 'determination' needed when she has clearly broken the law. Once discovered they should be deported, 5, 10, 20 years down the road. It should not matter. If we don't take our laws seriously, deferring instead to 'case by case' assessments, why should anyone?
DEDDIE 9 years, 2 months ago
You have to admit Fred is good at what he does. Like the sound say, you get swing, no big ting, you get swing.
Cas0072 9 years, 2 months ago
Wow, you self proclaimed "champions of the children" really want this initiative to fail just for the sake of failing. Documenting people is the whole crux of this policy, and it still appears that will get done. I believe Pratt is speaking prematurely regarding working with illegals who have been here a long time. We have no clue what he means by documentary evidence, but the only documents that need to be considered in these cases are official documents. I believe enough will be regularized through verifiable means that he will have to eat those words.
DonAnthony 9 years, 2 months ago
You are darn right we want to see this unjust targeting of children to fail. Thank goodness for the utter incompetency of this government to follow through on anything they say. At least this one time it will lead to a better result. This policy was just political self serving lip service, no way we were going to violate international treaties. Now it is time to go after the illegal adults, and leave the children alone to be educated in peace.
Cas0072 9 years, 2 months ago
Children don't register themselves for school. This policy is going after the parents and it's still in place. I didn't read anywhere about it not being carried out. In any situation where the illegal parent is caught whether it's chilling in a shanty town, on the job with no work permit, and now failure to properly register their kids, the child will be deported with them when all is said and done. Illegal Haitian enablers always use the kids as a shield against deportation. It is a smart move on the part of the government to meet them where they are and at least get them on record.
TheMadHatter 9 years, 2 months ago
Well, that lasted all of two weeks - LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a joke.
Min. Mitchell should have the self respect to resign, and in his speach simply say "I tried to save the country from illegals, but other players in the Govt and international treaties and regulations simply make that goal impossible. The Bahamas is now dead. Any Bahamians who remain here are simply attending its funeral. I have plenty of personal money, and plan to move to Canada where I can obtain residency based on business investment status. I wish the best of luck to my fellow Bahamians - but it is now simply clear that there is no solution and I encourage all Bahamians to apply to Port-au-Prince for a Haitian passport so that they do not face discrimination and loss of their jobs in the new regime which is now in power here. I tried, but I failed and I am a big enough man to admit I was wrong, and move on. God help you all."
TheMadHatter
TheMadHatter 9 years, 2 months ago
P.S. Above is the LAST comment I will ever make about the illegal immigrant situation. The battle is over. The war has been lost. I accept the fact, and will try to move on. There is no point discussing this any further ever again, no matter what happens or seems like it might be happening. It is all a big lie. I accept defeat like a man, and go on to the next project.
ispeakthetruth 9 years, 2 months ago
It's Pratt who should resign, first and foremost. What does he mean by documentary evidence of being here a long time? Are we leaving our immigration rules to be superseded by irrelevant documents such as a Cable Bahamas statement? He should clarify - the only documents that should matter are passports and permits.
I am not sure how long Pratt has been in his position, but he makes it clear how illegal immigration in the Bahamas got to this point. He should not be leading the department if he believes if he cannot fully enforce its rules or do what needs to be done.
ohdrap4 9 years, 2 months ago
he means that the politically correct will testify for their hatians. and for their americans too. (there are some illegal ones )
DEDDIE 9 years, 2 months ago
People only tend to carry out an action if there is a reward or a consequence. In the case of the policy there was no reward but a veil threat of a consequence(no registration, no school). The PM did away with the consequence when pressure came to bear. We need to demand that policy are properly thought off before they are announced.How can you announce an immigration policy that impacts the Ministry of Education without first talking to the Ministry of Education.
Cas0072 9 years, 2 months ago
There certainly is a reward for many Haitians - light at the end of the tunnel for the many eligible Haitians without documents. As Mitchell pointed out in this article, there were no contradictions. He said from the beginning that it would be up to the MOE whether the children are allowed to attend school or not, and the goal was to remain compliant with the constitution and international law. The Minister of Education and the PM confirmed that no children will be denied access to an education in accordance with international regulations. This should silence the people who live in fear of a society of illiterates. The Bahamas needs to think properly about jumping on the bandwagon with regard international treaties. If these treaties can essentially tie the hands of a sovereign country from acting in its own best interests, that is a problem and I am sure not the intent of such agreements. This country has to be able to think and react in real time to this ongoing crisis and I support any effort to do so.
TalRussell 9 years, 2 months ago
Comrade Acting Immigration Director William's, your directive that schools will be permitted to “provisionally accept” children of non-nationals who do not have a school permit required for the fall semester, goes contrary to the immigration law that its very intent is to prevent adults from entering the country when accompanied by children that they are unable to provide documentation that the adult they are traveling with, are in fact their parent or legal guardian and if not, they are in possession of verifiable documents of authorization for the child to travel with them.
Any child presenting themselves to a school, and not having proof of entry or residency, should be turned away. Why is it that consecutive governments have even when coming into direct contact with those who might not have entered the country through the front door, keep leaning over backwards to keep the back door wide-open for their illegal activity to continue. Why can you not enforce what the law calls for? Being in the country as an illegal, means exactly what it meant to those parents who on the day they brought their children into other peoples country ....illegally
But then again, someone may very well correct me that adults can "legally" enter the country with children, that they are not required to prove, are permitted to travel with them. If so we are a strange country which does not abide by what is required by immigration officials the world over.
birdiestrachan 9 years, 2 months ago
All of the illegals, Just go on over to Pratt, and if he feels you have been here long enough. Pratt will make you legal. Pratt in his statement has opened the doors of the Bahamas wide open to illegals. Remember the illegal Boats would also have children on them. Apparently there are no immigration laws. Immigration makes up the laws as they go, that is what Mr. Pratt said in very simple English.
Economist 9 years, 2 months ago
Mr. Pratt and the Government know that THEY HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL TREATIES signed and ratified by The Bahamas. The ones dealing with immigration were signed before 1991 so they have no one to blame but their own party.
This Government will continue to be forced to tear apart the very protectionist policies that they made over the last 40 years. They have tried to protect the people from the reality of the real world instead of preparing us to compete. Now it is all coming home to roost.
Many Bahamians are in a state of disbelief as their eyes are opened to the real world.
Some say that they are trying to delay the WTO agreement for as long as possible because they don't want to be blamed for the end of Bahamian only businesses. BUT stay tuned.
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