The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder yesterday defended the Smuggling of Migrants Bill 2025 as a measure designed to target criminal networks, rejecting claims that the Bill grants migrants new rights to remain or receive legal status in The Bahamas.

Mr Pinder said the legislation’s purpose is to tighten penalties, expand enforcement against human smuggling, and reduce the number of migrants entering the country illegally. He said it does not alter the state’s authority to arrest, detain, charge or deport migrants under the Immigration Act.

The Bill imposes tougher penalties, including fines of $300,000 and prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone who procures false documents for migrants or assists, transports, hides or otherwise facilitates them.

“Every individual who seeks to profit from human suffering and smuggling while endangering our country and our people should know that the odds that engaging in the smuggling business will ruin their lives are about to increase dramatically. New penalties include fines of $300,000 and prison sentences of 15 years for violation of this new law,” he said.

“Until now, prosecutors pursuing smuggling charges have been forced to patch together different provisions from the Penal Code, the Immigration Act, and customs laws. This new law closes those gaps, closes the loopholes and provides a clearer and more robust set of rules to establish illegality and to increase punishment for this heinous crime.”

The Bill will also enable faster information-sharing with US and regional partners, grant clear legal authority for joint maritime operations and provide guidance to Bahamian officers on stopping, inspecting and, when necessary, assuming control of suspect smuggling vessels.

The Coalition of Independents has argued the Bill gives immunity to migrants for illegal entry, remaining or possessing fraudulent documents. Mr Pinder rejected this, saying migrants are entitled to humane treatment — including safety, dignity and non-refoulement — but that this does not change who is allowed to stay.

He said the legislation clarifies expectations for officers without weakening immigration powers.

“The bill we tabled did not give migrants any new right to enter The Bahamas, no new right to remain in The Bahamas, or to receive any legal status in The Bahamas. It did not take away any power that we have under the Immigration Act to arrest, detain, charge, or remove people who are here in breach of our laws or who are in the country illegaly,” he said.

“The purpose of the bill is not to change who is allowed to stay. Its purpose is to give us sharper tools to go after the criminal smugglers who profit from exploiting desperate people and who add to the number of people in our country without a legal right to be here.”

“The bill does make clear that migrants should not be treated as smugglers under this law, just because they are on the same boat. Without more evidence, we would not charge the migrant with smuggling. But they can still detain, charge under immigration offenses that exist and deport in accordance with our existing immigration laws. Nothing in this bill removes or weakens those powers of the state.”

He said the Bill’s language concerning humane treatment does not create new entitlements, but reflects obligations that already exist. He stressed it is not an asylum bill and does not expand asylum rights.

“We have asylum applications for years in this country,” he said. “This isn't something new. We have a refugee unit within the Department of Immigration that addresses asylum applications, and in fact, that unit is responsible for interviewing migrants that caught or come to this country to see if there are any grounds. So that is standard operating procedure for many years now in this country, regardless of administration.”

Mr Pinder said the vast majority of asylum applications are denied due to a lack of grounds.

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Floyd Moxey revealed that officers recently disrupted a suspected smuggling attempt to the United States after its Harbour Patrol Unit intercepted a vessel near John Alfred Dock with eight people on board. The group included four Ecuadorian men, two Ecuadorian women and a Dominican man. An American man identified himself as the captain.

They were handed over to authorities for investigation into failure to clear customs and immigration, overstaying and suspected involvement in human smuggling.

Commodore Moxey also provided a five-year overview of maritime operations. Between 2021 and December 4, the RBDF interdicted or assisted with 344 vessels involved in migrant or smuggling-related activity, resulting in 11,791 migrants apprehended and handed over to authorities. These figures reflect maritime operations only and do not include land-based efforts with the Department of Immigration.

Of the 344 interdictions, 181 involved vessels inbound to The Bahamas, primarily carrying Haitian and Cuban migrants travelling from the south and west. These accounted for 8,114 apprehensions, including 6,545 Haitian nationals. A further 163 vessels were interdicted while attempting to leave The Bahamas en route to the United States.

Attempts typically originate from the northern Bahamas, particularly Bimini and Grand Bahama. Over the five-year period, 3,677 migrants of various nationalities — including Haitians, Cubans, Jamaicans, Dominicans, Ecuadorians and Chinese — were apprehended.

An intelligence assessment indicates that many migrants enter The Bahamas legally but later pay up to $10,000 for the final leg of an illegal journey to the United States.