Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) officials on Sunday apprehended 30 Haitian immigrants, including five children.

The immigrants were transported to New Providence for processing.

The group will eventually be repatriated to Haiti.

RBDF spokesperson, Origin Deleveaux said the sloop, which was carrying five children, one woman and 24 men at the time, was stopped early Sunday off Exuma Cays.

Haitian migrants have been coming to The Bahamas for years, fleeing severe poverty.

Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell, during the mid-year budget, noted that the Department of Immigration is close to depleting the $900,000 budgeted for repatriations and the more than $200,000 to run the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, which houses detainees.