The Tribune

A MAN, who was born in the Bahamas to an unwed Bahamian father and foreign mother, claims he is being denied entry to the country after being deemed an “undesirable” by authorities due to prior brushes with the law.

Michael Stapleton says he is unable to return home and is presently living in Jamaica – a country he says he knows nothing about and does not have any ties with.

He said he was deemed an undesirable and was placed on the stop list by the Department of Immigration in 2017.

Mr Stapleton has children, a home and businesses in Grand Bahama. He was raised by a Bahamian father in the Eight Mile Rock community and was educated in the public-school system.

He applied for his Bahamian citizenship, and claimed he had been called in to take the pledge before then-Director of Immigration Jack Thompson, and was told that his citizenship was awaiting approval before Cabinet.

Mr Stapleton has been charged with a number of offences, including a shooting in 2012, drug possession in 2013, and then assault of a public officer, threatening to kill six immigration officers, disorderly behaviour and overstaying in 2014.

Mr Stapleton, 42, pleaded guilty to the assault charge, but said he was not convicted of any of the other offences, which he said were all withdrawn and dismissed.

He alleged the authorities had also at one point put out a wanted poster for his arrest for stealing by reason of service, but when he went in to inquire about it, he was told he was not wanted.

While attempting to return home after leaving the country, Mr Stapleton said he was informed by an airline representative he had been placed on the stop list and could not enter the country.

Mr Stapleton took a flight to The Turks and Caicos, and flew to The Bahamas, but was arrested and detained by immigration officials on his arrival. He alleged that after being threatened to be jailed at the Department of Correctional Services, he left the country.

“I have no criminal history other than pointing in an immigration officer’s face, and to put me on the stop list denying my entry to The Bahamas where I have a home, business, and children and forced to live in a country that I never lived before and have no knowledge of,” he said.

In 2013, Mr Stapleton said he took out a Jamaican passport so that he could travel.

“Former Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell had advised persons that in the interim in waiting on citizenship, we could apply for application of descent and get passports if we wanted to be mobile and live a normal life,” he explained.

“When they said that I was an undesirable, I wrote to the Director William Pratt and explained to him that I don’t have any criminal history and that all the charges against me were thrown out.

“I am in Jamaica and I cannot get home because they have me on the stop list. The minister of immigration is the only person I can appeal to take me off the stop list,” said Mr Stapleton.

“I would love to come back home, but they have painted this false image of me to the minister,” he said.

When contacted about the claims, Mr Pratt initially did not want to speak about the matter.

He later said: “I did not deem him an undesirable. The Cabinet of The Bahamas deemed him an undesirable. The Immigration Act gives Cabinet that authority to deem an individual undesirable, not the director.”

The Tribune also spoke with Assistant Director of Immigration Fostina Major Smith about Mr Stapleton’s claims.

She noted that while she is not too familiar with the case, she can confirm that Mr Stapleton was born in Grand Bahama to a foreign mother and Bahamian father who were not married.

She said he had applied for citizenship, but it was denied and he was offered permanent resident status, but he rejected it.

Meanwhile, Mr Stapleton said that his car-import business has suffered because he is unable to deliver the vehicles to his customers.

“I collected monies and I am not able to deliver the 17 of vehicles that are now in storage,” he said.