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The BDM will not hinder the children of illegal immigrants from entering schools who were born in the Bahamas -- it is wrong, because it forces children onto the streets thus, creating an invitation for them to join gangs and turn to crime. The BDM will protect Bahamian jobs by increasing criminal and civil sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers.
The BDM will insure that the Ministry of Immigration adopts, and continue to adopt stringent checks at our air, land and sea border entry points to detect the smuggling of illegal immigrants into The Bahamas. Specifically, the following actions will be taken at the entry points to counter the problem of human smuggling:
a) More Intensive Checks
The expanded facilities at the Inagua Base checkpoint to accommodate Immigration officers as well as Defence Force officers to conduct more thorough checks on persons and vessels to deter illegal entry into our country.
b) Enhanced Intelligence Capability
Intensified RBDF intelligence gathering capabilities in order to enhance and facilitate the arrests of traffickers operating across our land sea checkpoints.
c) Sea and Coastal enforcement
The RBDF and the Police will step up both sea and shore patrols to detect smugglers who attempt to smuggle in illegal immigrants by sea. Both agencies will acquire new high-speed patrol boats with better maneuverability and fitted with the latest surveillance and digital communications equipment.
d) Joint Operations
within the, RBDF and RBPF will work closely on enforcement over and beyond intelligence sharing. The joint operations when conducted will extend to enforcement at sea. This close coordination will be made for more effective and efficient ground operations.
e) Technology
Ministry of Immigration will employ new technology to detect such attempts at smuggling illegal immigrants. The government will acquire mobile x-ray machines for the land and container checkpoints to detect illegal immigrants hiding in containers. The BDM will deployed state-of-the-art radar surveillance systems and electro-optic cameras at strategic locations to detect illegal at night.
f) Deterrent Messages
In addition to rigorous enforcement, Ministry Of Immigration will also constantly sent out deterrent messages through targeted public education. For example, distributes pamphlets in 4 languages to foreigners entering our boarders. These pamphlets highlight the stiff penalties for trafficking illegal immigrants.
The BDM will send out a notice to all Landlords owners to educate them on the need to check the status of prospective foreign tenants. The BDM will launch a facility on the national websites for landlords to make enquiries on the status of their tenants. Only those who are clearly negligent or have intentionally committed the act of harbouring immigration offenders would be prosecuted.
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