Phillip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, says that while Bahamians are “a compassionate people,” they can’t “shoulder any more burdens.” He said this as he repeated Nassau’s position on illegal immigration and the ongoing situation in Haiti, which is a French-speaking country next to the Bahamas.
In a nationwide radio and TV broadcast on Sunday night, Prime Minister Davis talked about a wide range of topics, including the just-ended 44th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit that was held here. He also announced the start of “Operation Secure,” a joint security operation between the Royal Bahamas Police Force, The Defence Force, and the Department of Immigration to deal with security and migration issues in unregulated and illegal communities.
He told the people of the country that stabilizing the situation in Haiti, where people are working to hold long-overdue Presidential and Legislative elections, is the best way to cut down on the number of people who might come here for work every day.
At the end of their summit last Friday, CARICOM leaders released a statement about Haiti. In it, they said that the 15-country regional integration group must take the lead in dealing with the worsening situation in Haiti.
The statement said, “Heads agreed that CARICOM needs to take decisive action as soon as possible because of the growing insecurity and its effects on all parts of Haitian life.”
Prime Minister Davis, who is also the CARICOM chairman, told Bahamians that he has told our international friends that helping Haiti must be done carefully, strategically, and with an understanding of the burden The Bahamas is already carrying and has been carrying for decades.
“We’ve been through a lot as a country. We have a lot of hard problems to solve, but not a lot of money or other resources to help us do it. “We are a kind people, but we can’t take on new responsibilities,” he said, defending his decision not to sign a pledge at last year’s Summit of the Americas that included a promise to take in refugees.
Davis said that 21 other countries, like Barbados and Jamaica in the Caribbean, had signed this agreement, but he didn’t. He said, “Our small country can’t take on any more of a burden.”
“We’re not going to back down from this position. Even though there was pressure, I decided to keep sending people back to Haiti when the UN asked countries in our region to stop sending people there earlier this year.
“I made this choice for the good of all Bahamians and the Bahamians of the future. The Bahamas are for Bahamians and people who are willing to follow our laws. We can’t afford to have open borders.
“This is why we keep pushing for a solution to the ongoing crisis in Haiti that is led by Haitians and backed by a partnership of many countries. The Bahamas will support such an effort, but the solution can’t and won’t include actions that could hurt the Bahamian economy and communities even more.
Prime Minister Davis said that he “fully understands the frustrations felt throughout our islands” and that “successive administrations could have done more to protect our borders, enforce our laws, get rid of shantytowns, or build an international coalition to address the root problem.”
“It’s understandable that the people of the Bahamas are getting impatient. We need to fix our immigration problems as soon as possible. We live here because the life we have here is valuable. And something so valuable needs to be kept safe.”
In his speech, Prime Minister Davis told Bahamians that his government has a “comprehensive plan to stop the flow of migrants to our islands and to actively try to find and send back those who have entered our country illegally.”
“The Bahamas is a country with laws, and we will keep following those laws in a fair and responsible way. We are making a difference with what we do.”
He said that 4,748 people went home last year, which was the most ever in one calendar year in the country’s history.
“As of 2023, 1024 people have already been sent home. Since we took office in September 2021, only one migrant boat has been able to reach an island where people live.
Davis said that in addition to “very strong and ongoing repatriation efforts,” the government has worked to get the international community behind a long-term solution in Haiti.
“Also, for more than a year, we have been working methodically to meet the legal requirements set by our nation’s Supreme Court so that we can deal with shantytowns more forcefully.”
During this time, he said, the government has been keeping an eye on these communities and gathering proof that they are illegal and growing.
“For years, the Court’s injunction has stopped people from working together to deal with communities that don’t follow the law. But on Friday, February 10, our request to have the injunction lifted was granted, allowing the government to take action,” Davis said. “As soon as the injunction was lifted, we started Operation Secure.”
“Operation Secure is a security operation run by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, The Defence Force, and the Department of Immigration. Its goal is to deal with security and migration issues in communities that are not governed by law. The main goal of the operation is to find out who is living in these communities, whether they are illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, or Bahamians, and to deal with their status in a comprehensive and coordinated way.
“Shantytowns are not allowed on our islands because they are unsafe, bad for public health, against the law, and have a direct effect on our way of life. Our top priority is taking action that is in line with the laws of our country.”
Prime Minister Davis said that undocumented migrants will continue to be processed and sent home. He also said, “This is already happening and will get a lot bigger in the coming days and weeks.”
“People with papers who live in unregulated communities will have to move, either at their own expense or at the expense of their employer, or they will be sent back home. And if any Bahamians are found living in these communities, they will have to move.
He also said that the people who help make these shantytowns possible will be held responsible by the government.
“With Operation Secure, we will stop unscrupulous landowners and businesses from taking advantage of and mistreating migrants. We will also hold those responsible who don’t care about our laws. Operation Secure goes after people who come to the Bahamas illegally and anyone who lives here legally but breaks the law.
“You will be prosecuted if you are a Crown Land owner and you lease land without permission. If you try to bring people into the country illegally, you will be prosecuted. And if you hire illegal immigrants, you will be charged with a crime.
“We will have a policy of zero tolerance for anyone who breaks or tries to get around the laws of The Bahamas. We depend on our uniformed officers’ skill and professionalism.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the government will continue to hire more immigration officers and is thinking about building a new Detention Center on the island of Inagua so that migrants who are detained anywhere in The Bahamas can be sent home without having to go to New Providence. This will help Operation Secure run smoothly.
He said that while Operation Secure is working to fix the situation on the ground, the government is also spending a lot of money to keep the country’s borders safe.
He said that the Royal Bahamas Defense Force is finishing up the last part of the Sandy Bottom Project. He also said that this multi-agency project is the largest capital investment project the government has ever started to increase the size of the Defense Force’s fleet.
Davis said that the extra ships have made it easier for the Defense Force to do its job of protecting our territorial waters.
“As we improve our ability to protect our borders, we will strengthen our relationships with neighboring countries like the US, Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Haiti to work together more and share information. We will also work more with key partners like the US Coast Guard to protect the border.
“The truth is that we need to protect 100,000 square miles of land in The Bahamas. Even rich countries like the United States, which have a lot of resources at their disposal, have a hard time stopping the flow of people who don’t have papers crossing their borders. But that won’t stop us from doing everything we can to stop undocumented boats from coming into our waters.
“Where cooperation is possible, we will welcome all the help we can get,” Prime Minister Davis said. “This could be through our work with regional and international partners or through major NGOs that we will ask to support Operation Secure by providing humanitarian aid.” He also said, “We pledge to do our work quickly and humanely, and above all, to keep the Bahamian people in the loop about this commitment.”
