Bahamas News
02-10-05, - 10:00 PM
Immigration “Time Bomb”
Candia Dames
The Bahama Journal
Appearing to surprise even his own colleagues, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller yesterday gave a hard-hitting address in the House of Assembly, warning that the illegal Haitian migration dilemma is a “ticking time bomb” that may explode at any minute.
“Unless we are able as a people to stem the flow of illegal immigrants in our country, The Bahamas as we know it today will be a totally different country in the next 20 years,” Minister Miller said, “there are no ifs or buts about that.[This would be] a country, Mr. Speaker, where they may have more say that you and I.”
His comments came as national dialogue on the issue continued to rage. It also came on the heels of a raid carried out by immigration authorities in New Providence, at which time around 181 illegal immigrants were picked up.
Minister of Labour and Immigration Vincent Peet, in what appeared to be an indirect statement to Minister Miller, later in the afternoon appealed for national leaders and others in the country not to incite unrest in the country in their approach to the dilemma.
He assured that the government is already putting together an aggressive plan to deal with the problem and pointed out that the raids that happened overnight will continue.
It’s the kind of action Minister Miller would probably like to see more of.
“The problem of illegal immigrants is probably more of a burden on a small country like The Bahamas than all of the other countries combined, including the great United States of America,” he said, while leading debate on a bill to amend the Rent Control Act.
Minister Miller, who is the Member of Parliament for Blue Hills, told House members that a growing number of illegal immigrants is making it more difficult for Bahamians to have access to properties and rental units.
“I’m speaking for and on [behalf of my constituency] before I get into the Rent Control Bill because it ties into the inability of Bahamians to have affordable housing because they’re being locked out by the tremendous amount of foreigners that come into this country where you have many Bahamians and foreigners alike who own dwelling places who won’t rent to some Bahamians because they can make more money renting to the illegal immigrants than they can to Bahamians. That is a fact of life,” he said.
“There’s great frustration in our land and if we don’t deal with it, it will deal with us. This is a catastrophe that we are facing and it is nothing to be taken lightly. It is a serious, serious matter.”
“The Bahamas has more foreign nationals on our shores than all of the other Caribbean countries combined,” the Minister said, estimating that about 70 percent of those foreigners are illegal immigrants.
“It does affect rental units and it ties in with poverty and some of the problems that we have emanating from crime also because we live in an inter-related society where what affects one, affects the others whether we like it or not.”
He said the illegal immigration problem is “frightening”.
“It’s almost a nightmare that is being perpetuated upon us and we cannot afford it. As good and as decent as Bahamians are, and we say that we are a Christian nation, we simply, Mr. Speaker, as a people can no longer afford the high amount of foreigners, illegal as they may be, that come to our shores on a daily basis,” Minister Miller said.
Early yesterday, Defence Force officers onboard a Harbour Patrol vessel arrested another group of illegal immigrants. Authorities said the operator of the vessel transporting the Haitians, just west of New Providence, rammed it into the Harbour Patrol vessel, attempting to prevent the officers from picking them up.
This latest apprehension happened just three days after a group of 31 Haitians was picked up in waters off New Providence.
Minister Miller said the burden of illegal immigration is becoming too great for The Bahamas.
He told House members that there are more Haitians enrolled at Garvin Tynes Primary in Sunset Park in New Providence than Bahamians.
“Mothers are frustrated and they come to me and say, ‘Mr. Miller. You know you are my representative. I cannot get my kid into primary school. What are you going to do about it? I can’t do it.’ Now I’m not saying, Mr. Speaker, that it’s unfair that those who came to our shores for a better way of life should not enjoy some of the privileges…such as a basic education. But, Mr. Speaker, this is my Bahamas. This is all [I have].”
He said many foreign women, including Cubans, Jamaicans, Africans, Taiwanese and many other nationals, come to The Bahamas pregnant with one view: to have children in The Bahamas to ensure that they get a birth certificate and that their children are allowed to attend Bahamian schools.
Minister Miller noted that the illegal immigration problem did not just happen over night.
“I am told that in some areas in Abaco, for example, you have probably more foreigners than Bahamians in some pockets of the community,” he said. “I say again, this is my country. I don’t want to live any place else in this world…as small as it is with whatever imperfections we have.
“I don’t care who these people are and how some people may plead for their cause, Mr. Speaker. I say to them, please, man, do me a favour, go back home. We love you, but we can’t afford for you to impede the progress of naturalized Bahamians, those who live here, who born here, all of our families are here, [our] roots are here.”
He added, “[They’re killing the educational system. When it comes to healthcare there are more babies born from foreigners than Bahamians. We have to arrest the problem.”
Candia Dames
The Bahama Journal
Appearing to surprise even his own colleagues, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller yesterday gave a hard-hitting address in the House of Assembly, warning that the illegal Haitian migration dilemma is a “ticking time bomb” that may explode at any minute.
“Unless we are able as a people to stem the flow of illegal immigrants in our country, The Bahamas as we know it today will be a totally different country in the next 20 years,” Minister Miller said, “there are no ifs or buts about that.[This would be] a country, Mr. Speaker, where they may have more say that you and I.”
His comments came as national dialogue on the issue continued to rage. It also came on the heels of a raid carried out by immigration authorities in New Providence, at which time around 181 illegal immigrants were picked up.
Minister of Labour and Immigration Vincent Peet, in what appeared to be an indirect statement to Minister Miller, later in the afternoon appealed for national leaders and others in the country not to incite unrest in the country in their approach to the dilemma.
He assured that the government is already putting together an aggressive plan to deal with the problem and pointed out that the raids that happened overnight will continue.
It’s the kind of action Minister Miller would probably like to see more of.
“The problem of illegal immigrants is probably more of a burden on a small country like The Bahamas than all of the other countries combined, including the great United States of America,” he said, while leading debate on a bill to amend the Rent Control Act.
Minister Miller, who is the Member of Parliament for Blue Hills, told House members that a growing number of illegal immigrants is making it more difficult for Bahamians to have access to properties and rental units.
“I’m speaking for and on [behalf of my constituency] before I get into the Rent Control Bill because it ties into the inability of Bahamians to have affordable housing because they’re being locked out by the tremendous amount of foreigners that come into this country where you have many Bahamians and foreigners alike who own dwelling places who won’t rent to some Bahamians because they can make more money renting to the illegal immigrants than they can to Bahamians. That is a fact of life,” he said.
“There’s great frustration in our land and if we don’t deal with it, it will deal with us. This is a catastrophe that we are facing and it is nothing to be taken lightly. It is a serious, serious matter.”
“The Bahamas has more foreign nationals on our shores than all of the other Caribbean countries combined,” the Minister said, estimating that about 70 percent of those foreigners are illegal immigrants.
“It does affect rental units and it ties in with poverty and some of the problems that we have emanating from crime also because we live in an inter-related society where what affects one, affects the others whether we like it or not.”
He said the illegal immigration problem is “frightening”.
“It’s almost a nightmare that is being perpetuated upon us and we cannot afford it. As good and as decent as Bahamians are, and we say that we are a Christian nation, we simply, Mr. Speaker, as a people can no longer afford the high amount of foreigners, illegal as they may be, that come to our shores on a daily basis,” Minister Miller said.
Early yesterday, Defence Force officers onboard a Harbour Patrol vessel arrested another group of illegal immigrants. Authorities said the operator of the vessel transporting the Haitians, just west of New Providence, rammed it into the Harbour Patrol vessel, attempting to prevent the officers from picking them up.
This latest apprehension happened just three days after a group of 31 Haitians was picked up in waters off New Providence.
Minister Miller said the burden of illegal immigration is becoming too great for The Bahamas.
He told House members that there are more Haitians enrolled at Garvin Tynes Primary in Sunset Park in New Providence than Bahamians.
“Mothers are frustrated and they come to me and say, ‘Mr. Miller. You know you are my representative. I cannot get my kid into primary school. What are you going to do about it? I can’t do it.’ Now I’m not saying, Mr. Speaker, that it’s unfair that those who came to our shores for a better way of life should not enjoy some of the privileges…such as a basic education. But, Mr. Speaker, this is my Bahamas. This is all [I have].”
He said many foreign women, including Cubans, Jamaicans, Africans, Taiwanese and many other nationals, come to The Bahamas pregnant with one view: to have children in The Bahamas to ensure that they get a birth certificate and that their children are allowed to attend Bahamian schools.
Minister Miller noted that the illegal immigration problem did not just happen over night.
“I am told that in some areas in Abaco, for example, you have probably more foreigners than Bahamians in some pockets of the community,” he said. “I say again, this is my country. I don’t want to live any place else in this world…as small as it is with whatever imperfections we have.
“I don’t care who these people are and how some people may plead for their cause, Mr. Speaker. I say to them, please, man, do me a favour, go back home. We love you, but we can’t afford for you to impede the progress of naturalized Bahamians, those who live here, who born here, all of our families are here, [our] roots are here.”
He added, “[They’re killing the educational system. When it comes to healthcare there are more babies born from foreigners than Bahamians. We have to arrest the problem.”