The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Immigration Minister Branville McCartney says The Bahamas has long faced an “immigration crisis”, pointing to weak enforcement, document fraud and what he described as a lack of political will, even as the government rejects that characterisation.

His remarks come after the opposition raised concerns about fraudulent National Insurance cards, birth certificates, spousal permits and e-passports.

However, no evidence has been presented of a worsening crisis in terms of increased illegal arrivals, with the dispute centred instead on enforcement, fraud and governance.

Speaking on the sidelines of former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ re-election campaign launch, Mr McCartney said the involvement of public officers in document fraud was particularly troubling.

“The concern I have is that we see that there are Bahamians public servants who are committing this type of act, which is tantamount to treasonous when there's passport fraud, immigration fraud and the like, and that is concerning,” he said, referring to an ongoing court case.

He added that people — not the state — are responsible for such acts, but called for stronger penalties to deter wrongdoing.

“It's not the government that's doing that, it's the individual persons,” he said. “I think the government is doing what they can in the circumstances to address the concern, and I just would like to see there are several penalties for persons who are caught committing fraud of these documents to be made an example of.”

Mr McCartney argued the issue predates the current administration and reflects a long-standing failure to enforce immigration laws consistently.

“We have been in an immigration crisis,” he said. “There has been an immigration crisis when I was Minister of Immigration. The problem was always, you have to have the political will to deal with it and don't play around with the situation.”

The Davis administration has rejected claims of a crisis, with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis saying fraudulent cases, while serious, do not signal systemic failure and pointing to ongoing enforcement and thousands of repatriations. The PLP has emphasised that it is the due dillegence of public officials that have brougth cases to the forefront.

Mr McCartney dismissed that position. He said meaningful reform requires sustained enforcement, stronger border controls and action against those facilitating illegal migration, while warning against politicising the issue.

“Political will means you have to be committed to doing what is right in terms of immigration,” he said, saying this involves “ensuring that our borders are protected, and dealing with those persons who facilitate the illegal immigration crisis that we have in this country.”

He added that political leaders often prioritise retaining power over acting in the national interest.

“We want to hang on to that power, and we fail to recognise why we really wanted to get involved in politics,” he said.