Immigration Minister Brent Symonette is  remaining tight lipped on the firing of former Director of Immigration  William Pratt less than three days after the government’s immigration policy came into effect.

Mr. Pratt was relieved of his duties  and was  replaced by former Chief Passport Officer Clarence Russell. This  was confirmed by Minister  Symonette in a brief interview with The Journal.

He did not give any specifics on why Mr. Pratt was relieved,  but only spoke of  his relationship with Mr. Russell.

“ I worked with Mr. Russell when he was Chief Passport officer.  I know his capabilities and I requested that he be transferred to the Department of Immigration.

“The warnings that the Prime Minister gave are being put into effect.

“Friday we deported 114 persons  who  tried to come in illegally and we will continue to do so,” Mr. Symonette said.

The Journal also reached out to the head of the Department of Immigration’s enforcement unit Kirklyn Neely as to how the change at the top would affect the repatriation strategy moving forward, but he said he could not elaborate on these details  as he had yet not met with the new director to discuss any new possible strategies or policies.

In October, prime minister Dr. Hubert Minnis gave illegal immigrants a December 31st deadline to leave the country voluntarily or face being “aggressively pursued and deported.”

The department of immigration  intensified its apprehension efforts in November after a large empty sloop was discovered on the shoreline of Adelaide.

The immigration  raids  have angered  President of  Rights Bahamas, Fred smith, who has written to members of the government expressing displeasure about the “complete and intentional” breakdown of the rule of law regarding the actions of immigration officials and the RBDF.