Just as I saw a glimmer of hope within the Attorney General’s offices and within the Ministry of Immigration, as they seemed to have brought Rony Jean-Charles back to the country to first stand before the courts to answer for the crime the he had violated for over fourteen [14] years; it seems that they seek to let the Bahamian people down and have our very sovereignty called into question.

First allow me a moment to stand on a point of clarification; I have persons questioning my calling Jean-Charles an ‘illegal migrant’; because by their understanding he was born in The Bahamas and never migrated here so he should not be considered ‘illegal’ but by my understanding if his mother, whose status now becomes his, was an illegal migrant then so is he; I stand to be corrected.

“Detained

• Jean-Charles back in custody upon landing
• Judge grants emergency stay of ruling” – The Nassau Guardian

Excerpt from this article; “Jean Rony Jean-Chares, the man at the center of a controversial ruling that has attracted widespread national attention, landed back in The Bahamas from Haiti on Saturday afternoon but was quickly taken into custody by immigration authorities after the judge in the matter agreed to an emergency stay of his judgment handed down nearly a week ago.

Jean-Charles is now back at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, ad his fate is uncertain.

The emergency stay was granted until the judge hears an application today from the office of the Attorney General seeking an extended stay of execution of the ruling until the appeal of the judgment is heard by the Court of Appeal.”

We all know that since this time that Jean Rony Jena-Charles has been released from custody pending the full hearing of the government’s stay application and in my opinion the only legal argument that jean Rony Jean-Charles has to present is the fact that he was allegedly expelled from the country without due process and if we were to concede this and accept it as fact, how much more does the constitution afford him, bearing in mind that he has been residing here illegally for the past decade plus?

Does he and others in his situation not bear some responsibility for their current situations?

Would it then be considered as cruel and unusual to bring him back to the country, process him, and find him guilty of violating our immigration laws and then legally expelling him, would this even be considered legal?

The ultimate power grab, but something drastic seems to have to be done to prove a point that the country is willing to take drastic measures to protect its borders and its sovereignty and this will not be done by an attorney general who seems to be acquiescing to the demands of an attorney whom I feel is over-reaching his bounds in this case in a situation that I feels that he ‘masterminded’ to bring the country to this point.

Now this position as stated above may be impossible to bring about but I say consider it and I also suggest that if this is not deemed legal, then put Mr. Jean-Charles on a probationary work permit status.

I find it curious that he and his attorney can make ultimatums of the government and feel that they owe the nothing in this matter.

The Department of Immigration must also bear great responsibility in this matter and someone in that department should be made to pay for putting Jean-Charles and his attorney Fred Smith in a position that they are now owed the ‘keys to the country’.

END