The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

AMENDMENTS to current immigration policies could place more of the onus on people aiding illegal migrants, according to Immigration Minister Brent Symonette.

Defending the efforts of the Minnis administration in recent months to address the immigration crisis, Mr Symonette insisted a more pragmatic approach would have to be taken in the years ahead if the country is to ever get a true grip on the problem.

Mr Symonette said the issues playing out at government agencies daily come largely as a result of procedural deficiencies and are not completely policy failures.

However, he said the government must still look at amendments that strengthen both sides of the spectrum.

On Monday, Attorney General Carl Bethel underscored the Minnis administration's holistic approach to the "influx of undocumented migrants" as a guest on "Z Live" with host Zhivargo Laing, noting "the government loves to make private sector lawyers rich."

He flagged the importance of upcoming legislation regulating the Carmichael Road Detention Centre and increasing penalties for people who hire illegal immigrants.

"It's a holistic approach," Mr Bethel said, "we're not simply knee-jerking and saying 'oh increases in penalties, that's it' we feel good and pat ourselves on the back."

As a follow up yesterday, Mr Symonette said the government could look to reinforce its laws with stronger policies that address persons harbouring illegal immigrants.

He said: "So the law would be strengthened in that regard. So those matters are under discussion at the moment. So do we take the fine up for harbouring?

"For instance, are landlords required to make sure that their tenants have immigration status?

"Like for instance, two of my children, in New York and in London have to produce their status, immigration wise to the landlord. These are things that we will continue to discuss as we modernise the procedure."

Mr Symonette, like Mr Bethel earlier this week, said this strategy is the only way the government could legally guard its efforts moving forward.

Reflecting on the recent fire at The Mud shanty town in Abaco, Mr Symonette asserted people who could be residing in the Bahamas illegally from that community could now make the claim that their documents were lost or damaged as a result of the fire and slow any legal proceedings.

He said: "For instance, people lost their documents. So the whole question about how do you prove you were born in the Bahamas - your immunisation, your marriage certificate - a lot of those issues you could get from the Registry (Department), but there are documents that affect that."

There have been several notable cases in recent months in which government action has been overturned on the grounds that it violated rights afforded under the Constitution.

Last year, Jamaican Matthew Sewell, who spent nine years in and out of prison and the Carmichael Road Detention Centre without trial, was awarded a $125,000 settlement in the Supreme Court.