FREEPORT – Minister for Labour and Immigration, the Honourable Shane Gibson made it clear last Monday (May 8) that he will not be distracted from doing his job, which includes ridding this country of the illegal immigrant population. Mr. Gibson also made it clear that all those persons who reside in The Bahamas legally “Have no reason to be concerned.”
Mr. Gibson was in Freeport for the swearing in ceremony of several new Bahamian citizens, as well as to deal with work permit issues and some labour matters.
Speaking during a press briefing Mr. Gibson also made it clear that the Department of Immigration has a mandate and that they are “Not picking on any particular group of nationals, but simply doing their job.”
Honourable Shane Gibson
Additionally, he said that while there have been some concerns expressed with regards to the Immigration roundup, “The vast majority of Bahamians approve the initiative of the Government in tackling the illegal immigrant population”.
Telling journalists that they have a job to do, Mr. Gibson pointed out, “we do not pursue illegal immigrants in the hospitals, we do not pursue them in the schools, and we don’t pursue them in churches.
“If you don’t want us to go early in the morning, you don’t want us to go on the job, you don’t want us to have them in bus loads during the middle of the day, when do you want us to do it,” he asked?
The Minister said he agrees that it is a touchy subject to those who object, “but for the most part I think Bahamians, and also the Haitian immigrants, understand that we are only enforcing the law; we are not introducing any new laws; we are not being bias to Haitians; we are looking for illegal immigrants.
“I think the message has to get out there that, if you have information where illegal immigrants are being housed, then you should bring that information to us. The more information we get from the public, the less we have to go out and actually conduct these types of exercises,” he said.
According to Mr. Gibson, when one looks at the numbers that they have been able to put together so far for the years, everyone will agree that the Bahamas has a significant amount of illegal immigrants out there.
“Our position is not that we want to inconvenience anybody, but at the same time the laws of The Bahamas must be upheld, and we will continue to be extremely vigilant in what we have to do.
“I will not be distracted and I will not lose focus on what it is we have to do. We have a job to do! We have a Bahamas to protect for all Bahamians, and for everybody who comes here legally. The Bahamas is not only for Bahamians; the Bahamas is for all Bahamians and those who come here under the right condition,” Mr. Gibson said.
He also used the occasion to discredit rumours regarding the Immigration Department placing a moratorium of new applicants for work permits.
According to Minister Gibson what they are doing is not entertaining any applications where the person is in The Bahamas.
“You have to be outside of The Bahamas. So if you have somebody that you want to hire who is in The Bahamas, get them out before we get to them. And if you send them out and they go out voluntarily, we will then entertain the work permit application and process it as quickly as possible.
“If we get them through one of our exercises, or if some someone calls us and tells us, and we pick them up, then we will not entertain the application for work permit,” he said.
Minister Gibson further pointed out that they are pursuing even more vigorously, those persons who employ illegal immigrants.
He noted that if illegal immigrants have no where to work, then more than likely they will not want to be here, since they come here seeking a better way of life.
“Where we were being sort of lenient in the past with employers, turning a blind eye and just repatriating and deporting those illegal immigrants, we will now be dealing more forcefully with those persons who hire illegal immigrants,” he said.
He advised that utilizing the existing policies, it is their intent to bring the level of illegal immigrants down to a bare minimum, and, he advised, it is not the intention of the Government to introduce any new policies as it relates to illegal immigrants since the policies that are currently on the books are workable. However he did not rule out putting in place new policies if it becomes necessary.
