“Were just trying to make it clearer – Bethel defends proposed changes to Immigration law” – The Tribune

Excerpt from this article; “ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel said yesterday the government’s proposed Nationality, Immigration and Asylum bill is seeking to establish greater certainty and fairness in its handling of nationality cases.

Addressing the legislation outside of Cabinet, Mr. Bethel said the government would provide a legal framework to improve upon its ability to deal with offenders, while still being able to appropriately deal with asylum seekers and anyone that otherwise qualifies to reside or work in The Bahamas.

The bill, which is currently out for public consultation, will among other things, subject persons born in The Bahamas post-independence who have not applied to be or have not been registered as a Bahamian citizen by their 19^th birthday to deportation within six months of its implementation if some other legal status is not secured.

The NIAB 2018, as proposed by the Law Reform Commission, further seeks to address areas of the constitution relating to what happens to persons born post-independence to two non-Bahamian parents before their 18 birthday and after their 19^th birthday; and those persons born outside of The Bahamas to a Bahamian mother before their 18^th birthday and after their 21^st birthday.”

It has been this areas where in The Bahamas has been experiencing mot of its trouble or a lot of it, because currently, Article 7 of the Bahamas constitution states that a person born in The Bahamas after independence, neither of whose parents is a citizen of The Bahamas shall be entitled upon making application on his attaining the age of eighteen (18) years or within 12 months thereafter, be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas.

The constitution does not, however, give any direction as to what is to happen to those individuals before  their 18^th birthday, or after their 19^th birthday and it would seem now with this proposed change to the Immigration Laws,  this issue is finally being addressed.

While this is being done we have “others” that have sat back and questioned; “……what was the true agenda…driving the initiative?” and to these persons I ask, really?

First let me say that I feel that there is really nothing to defend here, the country seeks to correct a ‘loop-hole’ in our immigration laws/polices which has been exploited by the very same persons that now seek to question the “true agenda…driving the initiative”.

The simple answer to this question; Your unrelenting attack on the immigration laws is partially what is driving this new initiative, feel proud of your accomplishments and do not seek to hide them or from them.

This proposed change is attempts to set right a problem that has threatened the sovereignty of The Bahamas for far too long, so to now question the “true agenda” driving them is disingenuous as best and only now proves that you as an activist were never about the rights of persons but rather simply undergoing an exercise of self-promotion by exploiting the very same persons that you claimed to fight for.

Indeed, there is nothing to be defend here and those that now complain about the proposed immigration changes are now realizing that they have losing a fight that they picked, especially when Senator Freed Mitchell’s only criticism is that the bill should have been three separate bills.

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