The Department of Immigration repatriated more than 200 Haitians to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this week.

According to Director of Immigration Jack Thompson, 212 Haitian nationals were repatriated on Monday and Wednesday.

The first exercise took place on Monday, July 16. The immigrants were returned to their homeland on a Bahamasair jet.

The flight departed the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) at 8:30 a.m.

A total of 103 Haitian nationals – 74 men, 22 women and seven children – were returned home.

The second exercise took place on Wednesday at 8:05 a.m. One hundred and nine Haitian nationals – 89 men, 14 women and six children – were repatriated.

The total of 212 represents illegal landing activities which took place in South Beach, Exuma and the Abacos over the last two weeks.

According to statistics from the Department of Immigration obtained by the Bahama Journal, a total of $446,249.01 has been spent up to June 2012.

Last year, the government spent a total of $929,005.47.

Minister of Immigration Fred Mitchell told the Bahama Journal last month that a joint commission between The Bahamas and Haiti may be the solution to the human smuggling problem and illegal immigration between the two countries.

“Moving forward I spoke to the Haitian ambassador and I indicated to him that at an early opportunity we need to sit and revive the issue of a joint commission between Haiti and ourselves which would meet every six month,” he said at the time.

Minister Mitchell said that $1 million have been allocated in this year’s budget for repatriation exercises.

In 2010, the government spent $867,176.2, a significant decrease from 2009 when $2,987,316.24 was spent.