Tynia Brown
Journal Staff Writer
As heated public discussions continue about migration particularly after the passing of the Smuggling of Migrants Bill 2025in parliament, the Bahamas Department of Immigration continues to apprehend and deport foreign nationals living and working in the country illegally.
This week, the Department of immigration reported that thirteen Haitian nationals and one Honduran national appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Kara Deveaux in Magistrate’s Court No. 2, where they were convicted of several immigration-related offences. These included overstaying, illegal landing, knowingly attempting to mislead an immigration officer, possession of a forged document, and use of a forged document.
The convicted individuals were fined amounts ranging from $300 to $3,000, with custodial sentences imposed by the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) ranging from one month to one year. Upon payment of fines or completion of their sentences, all were ordered to be handed over to the Department of Immigration for subsequent deportation.
Among those convicted was Haitian national Maximus Romeus, also known as Raphael Regis, who was arrested on December 9th during a routine immigration status check. Authorities stated that Romeus provided a false name to the officers and presented a work permit that had not been issued to him. He was convicted of knowingly attempting to mislead an immigration officer, possession of a forged document, and use of a forged document. The court imposed a $1,000 fine and one-year custodial sentences on each count, to run concurrently. In default of payment, Romeus would serve an additional six months.
Meanwhile, the Department reported that between December 6 and 12, its Enforcement Unit conducted immigration status checks across New Providence, resulting in the processing of approximately 75 foreign nationals. Those processed included 67 Haitian nationals, five Jamaican nationals, and one national each from Honduras, Mexico, and Nigeria.
Additionally, the Deportation and Removal Units successfully executed deportation orders, resulting in the removal of 29 Haitian nationals, three Chinese nationals, three Ecuadorian nationals, and one Dominican national from New Providence to their respective home countries.
The Department emphasized that all security and health protocols were strictly observed during enforcement and removal operations, noting that the safety and welfare of officers and migrants remain a top priority.
There was a lot of opposition to the Migrants Bill, and a large part of the controversy stems from claims that the bill creates a pathway for migrants to claim asylum in The Bahamas, a position heavily promoted by the Coalition Of Independents and its leader, Lincoln Bain, who argues that the legislation opens the door for migrants to remain in the country indefinitely.
Bain has pointed to five references to “asylum” in the bill and the inclusion of non-refoulement principles, arguing that these provisions effectively prevent the government from repatriating migrants arriving from unstable countries, such as Haiti, but these recent convictions of illegal immigrants prove these allegations wrong.
“Anyone who lands here could claim asylum and be allowed to stay,” Bain said during a public demonstration, adding that such a scenario represents “a direct attack on the nation’s sovereignty.”
He further warned that the legislation could require The Bahamas to feed, house, educate, and provide medical care for migrants on an unpredictable scale.
Attorney General Senator Ryan Pinder pushed back firmly against these interpretations, stating that the bill does not grant migrants any right to enter, remain in, or receive legal status in The Bahamas.
“The bill did not give migrants any new right to enter The Bahamas, to remain in The Bahamas, or to receive any legal status in The Bahamas,” he said. “Nothing in the legislation removes our existing power to arrest, detain, charge, or repatriate individuals who violate immigration laws.”
Opposition Leader Michael Pintard says the Smuggling of Migrants Bill 2025 does more harm than good, arguing that it creates more loopholes than solutions. Pintard noted that repeated changes to the parliamentary debate schedule signaled the government’s unwillingness to address concerns raised by the opposition and the public. He warned that the bill provides what he described as “blanket immunity” to individuals who knowingly pay smugglers to enter The Bahamas illegally, a move he believes could encourage further illegal migration rather than deter it. Pintard stressed that existing legal mechanisms already allow authorities to work with whistleblowers without weakening immigration enforcement.
“The bill opens more loopholes than it closes. Instead of solving the problem, it does the opposite by giving what amounts to blanket immunity to persons who willingly pay bad actors to illegally enter our country. We ought not give any ground to that type of behavior; it only opens the floodgates.”
He explained that the inclusion of non-refoulement is not a new policy, but a formal restatement of long-standing humanitarian practices already followed by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, ensuring migrants are not subjected to inhumane treatment, and that vulnerable persons such as children, pregnant women, and individuals with medical needs are handled safely.
