The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder accused the Free National Movement (FNM) yesterday of taking a hypocritical stance on the Smuggling of Migrants Bill, saying the party previously endorsed a comprehensive asylum framework for migrants and drafted legislation to advance it.

He criticised the opposition as he defended the bill during debate in the Senate.

The legislation, which has become a flashpoint in recent days, was passed in the House of Assembly this week without the opposition’s support. It also passed the Senate yesterday.

FNM leader Michael Pintard has pledged to repeal it if he becomes prime minister.

However, Mr Pinder said that if he did, he would likely be advancing the FNM’s own version of an asylum bill.

He said characterising the legislation as an “asylum bill” is inaccurate and misleading

“Nothing in this bill addresses enhanced asylum protections in the Commonwealth,” he said.

He said anyone curious about what a real asylum bill looks like need only turn to the Minnis administration’s draft Nationality Immigration and Asylum Bill.

The 2021 draft legislation, released yesterday, outlines who is eligible for asylum, establishes a refugee unit, and details the rights of asylum seekers, among other things.

Mr Pinder said he met the draft bill upon taking office, claiming it was ready to be tabled and advanced by the FNM. However, he said the Davis administration — in line with its position on asylum — rejected the bill outright.

“I propose that if it were not for sudden snap elections, the FNM government would have advanced and passed into law the National Immigration and Asylum bill of 2021,” he said.

FNM senator Reuben Rahming dismissed the remark as “misleading” and irrelevant to the debate, while former Cabinet Minister Darren Henfiled called the document ‘”fictituous,” noting it was never tabled and that the party is under new leadership.

Mr Pinder did not relent, pointing out that roughly 20 sections of the Minnis administration’s draft bill dealt with an asylum framework.

He then read an excerpt from a Cabinet conclusion showing the former administration had requested a final draft of the bill.

“This FNM or opposition led by the honorable Michael Pintard has no moral stance, no policy commitment, and frankly, they are not ready to govern,” he said. “The FNM cannot be trusted, especially when it comes to these types of things.”

Turning to the administration’s own legislation, Mr Pinder stressed that it does not alter the state’s authority to arrest, detain, or deport migrants under the Immigration Act, nor does it create any additional rights for them.

“The purpose of the bill is not to change who is allowed to stay,” he said. “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.”