Immigration Needs 900 Staff Members

Last week the Royal Bahamas Defence Force caught 44 Cubans on the southern flank of the country near Cuba and brought them to Nassau.  Last week in a statement to the country from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was revealed that over one thousand Cubans were repatriated to their home country after violating Bahamian immigration laws.  All of them were trying to get to the United States.  Some 4500 Haitians were repatriated to their home countries.  Altogether with other nationalities that is 7,000 people.  Immigration is a force of some 300 souls.  They just do not have the capacity to handle the problems. So there is a need to increase the capacity of the agency, and the agency has to get a public advocate for its position in the country.   We support the expansion of the force.