Fred Mitchell citizenship warning in order

By Dennis Dames



I have read the Nassau Guardian’s editorial of Monday, November 17, 2014, entitled: Mitchell’s citizenship warning was unhelpful. Firstly, the words of Ms Daphne Campbell, a Florida state representative were nationally offensive and troublesome to most Bahamians when she called for tourists and businesses to boycott The Bahamas over our country’s immigration policies. Secondly, to add insult to injury, Ms Jetta Baptiste, a naturalized Bahamian of Haitian descent, who presently lives in the USA, agreed publically with Ms Campbell. This further inflamed Bahamians; and it was a devastating mistake on Ms Batiste’s part -- in my opinion.

The citizenship warning was in order, in my view, as no one really knows how far persons are prepared to go in order to be heard on the issue of illegal immigration in The Bahamas. Ms Baptiste is in her rights to express her perspective; but she needs to understand that we Bahamians have feelings and she has hurt so many with her concurrence with Ms Campbell – a foreigner. Ms Baptiste has created many lifelong enemies in The Bahamas. So, it might be in her best interest to consider citizenship in another country.

The Guardian’s editorial focused on the rights of an individual to express oneself under the law. It did not talk about a loose and ungrateful tongue, and the damage which is instigated by it. Ms Baptiste has unwittingly revoked her own Bahamian citizenship by supporting evil and disgusting foreign elements against the Bahamian people and nation -- in a very damning fashion.

Let’s face it, we are not fighting a war against government immigration policy detractors as The Nassau Guardian might feel. Our fight has more to do with the internal chronic disunity among us Bahamians, and our political gangster mentality that affects our progress as one people.

Naturalized citizens of The Bahamas, take serious note of the Bahamian Constitution ...which speaks in Article 11 of the circumstances that can lead to the Governor General depriving a Bahamian of citizenship

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has taken note of complaints to the Ministry from Bahamian citizens about the comments made in the press by a purported citizen of The Bahamas who now lives in the United States and the adverse comments about The Bahamas from a state legislator in Florida. The Ministry is investigating the complaints to determine what are the appropriate administrative measures if any that are necessary to protect the sovereign integrity of The Bahamas.

The Ministry reminds the public that the constitution requires all citizens to act in manner which does not prejudice the sovereignty of the state or jeopardizes their citizenship. Any visitor to our country must comport themselves in accordance with the law.


The Constitution speaks in Article 11of the circumstances that can lead to the Governor General depriving a Bahamian of citizenship.

11. (1) If the Governor-General is satisfied that any citizen of The Bahamas has at any time after 9th July 1973 acquired by registration, naturalization or other voluntary and formal act (other than marriage) the citizenship of any other country any rights available to him under the law of that country, being rights accorded exclusively to its citizens, the Governor-General may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

(2) If the Governor-General is satisfied that any citizen of The Bahamas has at any time after 9th July 1973 voluntarily claimed and exercised in any other country any rights available to him under the law of that country, being rights accorded exclusively to its citizens, the Governor-General may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

These are very limited circumstances in which the Governor General can act.

The Bahamas Nationality Act says in Section 11 ( 2) (a) (iii) that the Minister for Nationality may by order deprive someone who is a naturalized citizen of his or her citizenship if that person has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards The Bahamas.

The point here is that citizenship of The Bahamas is precious and important and worthy. It is not to be enterprised or treated lightly.

I urge all citizens therefore to be mindful that we have in all things to be sure of our conduct. The world marks the manner of our bearing.

The policies are not complicated. They are not targeted at any particular national group.
I am hoping that we have a good discussion this morning.

--
Elcott Coleby
Deputy Director
Bahamas Information Services
326-5833
477-7006

Haitian Children Born in The Bahamas Should Get Bahamian Citizenship

Key: Haitian Descendents Born In Bahamas Should Get Citizenship

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

PEOPLE born in the Bahamas of Haitian descent are Bahamians and should have citizenship, according to Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Key slammed successive governments for failing to address the long-standing immigration issue that has led to the marginalisation of a large group of people as “scapegoats of labour”.

He called on the government to move quickly and humanely to address the growing problem that he feels will soon become unmanageable.

Mr Key said: “These people, particularly the people that live in the Mud and Pigeon Peas, that’s my constituency. These are people that have children born there now who are doctors, lawyers, defense force officers, police, nurses.”

“They make a contribution and I blame all the governments for the situation they have to live in. They are human just like me and you and everybody else.

“There should be a more humane approach,” he said, “you’re born in a country, you don’t have no passport, and when you’re 18 you can only apply and they don’t have to give you any consideration for citizenship. But yet you are Bahamian if you look at it by your birth certificate.”

Earlier this year, an official from the Haitian Embassy urged the government to address practices regarding the process of regularising persons of Haitian descent.

Wallenson Nobert, first secretary of Legal Affairs at the Haitian Embassy, said the “real problem” faced by the Haitian-Bahamian community in the Bahamas stems from the absence of a clear legal framework to process migrants.

In response to a panel discussion hosted by the College of the Bahamas on the complex issue of statelessness within the Bahamian context, Mr Nobert said the use of the term “stateless” to describe unregularised persons of Haitian descent was “inappropriate” given Haiti’s citizenship laws.

Instead, he said, there was an inherent “hypocrisy” in the Bahamas’ handling of citizenship that allowed for a peculiar stratification of rights, adding “either you’re a part of a country, or you’re not”.

Outside the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Key said: “I think the government should look at these people and sort this situation out. Let’s say it’s 60,000 foreign women in this country in this same situation and they each have five children – that’s 300,000 people. One day, it’s going to catch up with us. We need to deal with this situation now and don’t let it get any further.”

Mr Key referred to the recent spate of fires that have negatively affected shanty town populations in Abaco.

Last year, a mother and her year-old son were killed in a fire in the Pigeon Pea area in Marsh Harbour. More than 80 homes were burned to the ground on that occasion, leaving more than 500 people homeless.

Following the December 31 fire, Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told Abaco residents the government would do all that it could to ensure a situation like that did not happen again, adding that members of such communities must make certain their homes are up to standard.

Last month in another shanty town on the island, more than 70 homes were wiped out in a blaze that consumed the Sand Banks area, and which police believe was arson.

Mr Key said consideration should also be given to regularise the parents of Bahamas-born children, who have worked in the country for more than 40 years.

When asked whether or not he had a solution to the issue, Mr Key said: “I don’t really know, but I know if I was in charge of the country or Immigration I would sort this out, especially with the children, but not only that, the parents. Some of them have been here 40, 50 years. 

He added: “They’ve worked hard, they’ve helped to build every building, every house, every road. Why are we using these people that have made such a contribution and then at the end of the day say we don’t need you.”

According to Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell, senior Bahamian and Haitian government officials are in bilateral talks this week covering trade, technical co-operation and illegal migration. Negotiations in Nassau were said to have been fruitful in advancing the draft texts to be signed this summer.

June 20, 2014

Tribune 242

Haitian-Bahamians and Bahamian Citizenship

Haitian-Bahamians Want Citizenship

The Bahama Journal




Three young Haitian-Bahamians stood before the Constitutional Commission this past Friday making recommendations specifically surrounding children born to Haitian parents receiving citizenship.

The trio, representatives from Univision, a civic organisation geared at spreading equality amongst cultures, presented the challenges that face children born to Haitian parents in The Bahamas.

President and Founder of Univision Lovy Jean said the Bahamian Constitution has no security for those children who for 18 years have no nationality.

“As stipulated in the Constitution, the group of young people born to foreign parents in The Bahamas is not afforded the right of automatic citizenship. Therefore a formal application must be made to the Department of Immigration for that person to become a citizen. That process is normally two to six years. If you’re lucky during a General Election you’d get it right away,” he said.

“You’re in this internal conflict because you don’t know where you belong. You can’t go to school, you can’t get a scholarship because you simply don’t have a nationality. In the schools down here, you’re not a Bahamian, your parents are Haitians. But back home in Haiti, you’re not Haitian; you were born in The Bahamas. So imagine what that must be like for someone to go through that for 18 years and more until they gain citizenship.”

Mr. Jean recalled the scholarship opportunities he had to pass up on all because he did not have a passport, Haitian nor Bahamian.

Mr. Jean’s sister, Janette Jean, is the co-founder of Univision and says she believes that it’s time The Bahamas begins to benefit from the investment it makes in the thousands of children it educates and provides free healthcare for.

“The Bahamas for the past years has been investing in its people, all because they want to see a better future. The Bahamas invests in both Bahamians and foreigners. The Bahamas invested in me, and they do it for a return. Sadly, because of the present laws and policies that we have currently in place, it is difficult for The Bahamas to gain the returns that they should in the foreigners that they invest in,” she said.

Undoubtedly the portion of their presentation that came as a surprise to the Commission was the group’s recommendation of setting a date, before which every child born in The Bahamas to foreign parents would become a Bahamian citizenship, and after which every child born in The Bahamas to illegal parents would be subject for deportation.

The group acknowledged that this method would not sit well with their fellow Haitians, but Ms. Jean believes that this would be the ideal way of addressing the illegal immigration problem in The Bahamas.

“We have an illegal immigrant problem. I consider The Bahamas my home and I want to protect it. This is a decision we have to make and the line must be drawn somewhere. You must be fair to both sides,” she said.

Their recommendation also included children born to parents outside The Bahamas, saying that the parents should be able to decide which nationality the child should be given as well as they recommended that spouses of Bahamian citizens of any gender be given the opportunity to apply for Bahamian citizenship regardless of their gender.

Department of Statistics’ 2010 census shows that there are 39,144 Haitians living in The Bahamas.

However, these figures do not include the undocumented or illegal immigrants.

18 March, 2013

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International 

Constitutional reform, pt.3: ... ...The need for constitutional reform is most dramatically illustrated in the constitutional provisions dealing with citizenship

Constitutional reform, pt.3

Alfred Sears

The need for constitutional reform is most dramatically illustrated in the constitutional provisions dealing with citizenship.  Women are treated less favorably than men and, in practice; perhaps thousands of children born in The Bahamas of undocumented Haitian parents are denied their constitutional entitlement to citizenship under Article 7 of the Constitution.  The result is that these children are reduced to a condition of statelessness and marginalization, while foreign investors can purchase the predicate for citizenship, permanent residency, by investing a minimum of $500,000 or purchase a residence in The Bahamas for $1.5 million for accelerated consideration for permanent residency status.

Further, thousands of immigrants, primarily Haitian nationals, who have lived and worked in The Bahamas for decades, with Bahamian-born children, strong social and community ties in The Bahamas are denied a permanent legal status.  Why is it that the public policy of The Bahamas permits a foreign investor, with no permanent link to The Bahamas, to purchase permanent residency in The Bahamas for a minimum investment of $500,000, while an immigrant worker who gives decades of dedicated labor, with committed family ties in and contribution to the development of Bahamian civil society finds it difficult to secure permanent residency or citizenship?  Is it a question of race and class?  Why do we discriminate against immigrants from our sister Caribbean countries who give their labor for our development and often establish strong anchorage in and permanent links to our society, while we favor the foreign investor primarily from the United States or Europe who often is only here for the comparative advantage of trade and commerce?

 

Nationality and international law

The concept of national sovereignty is defined, in part, by control by a nation state over its territory, resources and people.  Membership in a political community or nation state is known as one’s nationality.  The citizen of a nation state gives her or his loyalty to the state in exchange for the diplomatic and other protections that the state affords all its nationals or citizens.  Under international law, states use certain principles to determine how one becomes a citizen of the state.  The three principles of nationality are:  Jus soli – where the place of birth determines nationality;  jus sanguinis – where the nationality of a child follows that of one or both parents, irrespective of the place of birth of the child; and naturalization – where one voluntarily assumes the nationality of another country.

Since World War II and the Nuremberg Trials, there has emerged a global bill of human rights, which imposes an obligation upon all states to treat aliens and citizens in a non-discriminatory manner.  The individual is now a proper subject of international law.

In the Nottenbohm Case (1955) 1 CJ 22, the International Court of Justice established a set of criteria for establishing nationality using the principle of the “genuine link” between the immigrant and the host country, using factors such as habitual residence of the individual concerned in the host country where the host country is the center of immigrant’s interest, the existence of family ties, participation in public life and attachment shown by the individual for the host country and inculcation of such attachment in her or his children.  By this set of criteria, many of the Haitian nationals in The Bahamas may have a claim for nationality in The Bahamas.

Professor Ian Brownlie describes this concept of the genuine link as “prima facie the effective nationality of the host state.”  Many of the Haitian immigrants in The Bahamas may qualify for Bahamian citizenship, pursuant to the Nottenbohm criteria, by their habitual residence in The Bahamas, The Bahamas is the center of their economic and social interests, their Bahamian spouses, Bahamian born children and their engagement in Bahamian civil society, such as active membership in churches.  While we must effectively police our borders to stop the flow of illegal immigration, the regularization of those immigrants with a genuine link to The Bahamas should be given the priority to ensure compliance with the Constitution and international humanitarian law.

 

Nationality by birth, descent, marriage and naturalization

The Constitution of The Bahamas, Chapter II, uses the three principles of jus soli, jus sanguinis and naturalization in relation to citizenship.

Under Article 3, every person, who had been born in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands and was a citizen of the United Kingdom or if his or her father would have become a citizen of The Bahamas or was a citizen of the United Kingdom by virtue of his or her having been registered in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands under the British Nationality Act, became a citizen of The Bahamas on July 10, 1973.

Under Article 4, with limited exceptions, every person who had previously been naturalized under the British Nationality Act in the former Colony of the Bahama Islands became a citizen of The Bahamas on July 9, 1973.

Article 5 of the Constitution entitles a woman to citizenship who, on the July 9, 1973 is or has been married to a citizen by virtue of Article 3 or whose husband died before July 10, 1973 but would, but for his death, have become a citizen of The Bahamas, provided that she applies, takes the oath of allegiance and renounces her previous citizenship.

Every person born in The Bahamas after July 9, 1973, under Article 6, shall become a citizen of The Bahamas at the date of her or his birth if at that date either of her or his parents is a citizen of The Bahamas.

Under Article 7, a person born in The Bahamas after July 9, 1973 neither of whose parents is a citizen of The Bahamas shall be entitled, upon making application on her or his attaining the age of 18 years within 12 months thereafter in such manner as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas provided her or his previous nationality is renounced, she or he takes the oath of allegiance and declares an intention to reside in The Bahamas.

It is under this provision that the children of undocumented Haitian nationals are guaranteed Bahamian nationality.  The United States Supreme Court in the case Pyler v. Doe (1981) 457 U.S. 223 invalidated a discriminatory law adopted by the Texas legislature which had withheld funds from local school districts that enrolled children who were not legally admitted into the United States.  Justice Powell wrote: “The classification at issue deprives a group of children of the opportunity for education afforded all other children simply because they have been assigned a legal status due to a violation of law by their parents.  These children thus have been singled out for a lifelong penalty and stigma.  A legislative classification that threatens the creation of an underclass of future citizens and residents cannot be reconciled with one of the fundamental purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment... But it can hardly be argued rationally that anyone benefits from the creation within our borders of a subclass of illiterate persons many of whom will remain in the state, adding to the problems and cost of both state and national governments attendant upon unemployment, welfare and crime.”

However, in The Bahamas, in spite of the clear constitutional entitlement under Article 7, there are hundreds and perhaps thousands of young persons who have applied to be registered as Bahamian citizens under this category and have not been registered as citizens of The Bahamas.  The problem, in part, is the absence of clear policy guidelines for the processing of these applications.  Therefore, the Passport Office and the Department of Immigration lack the proper procedural directives and adequate resources to enable these agencies to process these applications in a prompt and efficient manner.  This ambivalence by the Bahamian public policy towards the treatment of the children of Haitian immigrants is to be contrasted with the clear National Investment Policy with respect to granting of accelerated consideration for permanent residency to foreign investors and foreign purchasers of a second residence in The Bahamas.

 

Discrimination against Bahamian women

The discriminatory treatment of Bahamian women is reflected in Articles 8 and 9 in particular.  Under Article 8, a child born outside of The Bahamas after July 9, 1973 to a Bahamian father, inside of a marriage, shall become a Bahamian citizen automatically at the date of birth.  Whereas, under Article 9, a child born outside of The Bahamas after July 9, 1973, to a Bahamian mother married to a non-Bahamian father, is not automatically a Bahamian citizen at birth.  To become a Bahamian citizen, such a person must:

1) Make application upon attaining the age of 18 years and before the age of 21 years to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas;

2) Renounce or make a declaration with respect to any other citizenship;

3) Take the oath of allegiance to The Bahamas;

4) Make and register a declaration of her/his intention to reside in The Bahamas; and

5) Have been born legitimately.

Even after fulfilling these five requirements, such a person can still be denied citizenship on the bases of national security or public policy.  These disabilities on a child born outside of The Bahamas to a Bahamian woman married to a non-Bahamian husband constitutes invidious discrimination, when automatic citizenship is conferred at birth upon the child born outside of The Bahamas to a Bahamian father married to a non-Bahamian spouse.

Further, Bahamian women are treated less favorably than Bahamian men in granting Bahamian citizenship to their respective spouses.  Under Article 10 of the constitution, any women who marries a person who wishes to become a Bahamian citizen after July 9, 1973 shall be entitled to be registered as a Bahamian citizen, provided she makes an application, takes the oath of allegiance or makes a declaration and that there is no objection on the bases of national security or public policy.  No such requirement is demanded of foreign spouses of Bahamian men.

Under Article 11, the governor general may deprive a person of Bahamian citizenship if the governor general is satisfied that any citizen of The Bahamas has at any time after July 9, 1973 acquired the citizenship of another country or voluntarily claimed or exercised rights in another country which are exclusively reserved for the citizens of that country.

 

• Alfred Sears is an attorney, a former member of Parliament and a former attorney general of The Bahamas.  Next week will focus on the recommendations for these parts of the constitution.

Aug 30, 2012

thenassauguardian

The Constitution Commission Submits Its Report to Prime Minister Perry Christie

It is The View of the Constitution Commission that there Should Be Greater Opportunity for The Involvement of Civil Society before The Exercise of Executive Power

There is Widespread Support Among The Bahamian People to Limit the Powers of The Prime Minister

Push To Limit PM’s Powers

By Candia Dames

Nassau, The Bahamas

23 March 2006

More than three years after it was appointed to review the Bahamas Constitution and make recommendations for change, the Constitution Commission yesterday presented its report to Prime Minister Perry Christie, which states that there is widespread support among the Bahamian people to limit the powers of the nation’s leader.

"By and large people felt the enormous powers of the prime minister, whether real or perceived, had to be limited without affecting the prime minister’s authority," the highly-anticipated report states.

"It was their view that there should be greater opportunity for the involvement of civil society before the exercise of executive power."

Former Attorney General Paul Adderley, who chairs the Commission with Queen’s Counsel Harvey Tynes, said the initial report will be widely circulated and the Commission will then draft final recommendations, which will be presented to the prime minister.

"We’re only half way through the process now and [we hope] that by the end of the day we have a general agreement in The Bahamas," said Mr. Adderley, who noted that the Commission received strong response from Family Islanders in particular during its consultations.

Prime Minister Christie, meanwhile, foreshadowed that there will have to be a referendum so that Bahamians could decide what changes they want to see to their constitution.

"At some stage we are going to go to the people on a referendum," Mr. Christie said.  "The lesson of this country is that when we do that we must have exhausted every opportunity we have now for consultation; that must never be an issue again, whether or not we have consulted sufficiently."

The prime minister was referring to the failed referendum of February 2002, during which time the Bahamian people overwhelmingly rejected the Ingraham Administration’s move to have changed certain provisions of the constitution, including those to do with citizenship.

Mr. Christie, who appointed the Commission on December 23, 2002, mandated it to carry out a comprehensive review and make recommendations that would strengthen fundamental freedoms and civil and political rights of the individual, and critically examine the structure of the executive authority.

In its preliminary report, the Constitutional Commission wrote that there were many criticisms leveled at the devotion to duty provided by some members of parliament, and many persons expressed the view that there should be some system for penalizing or recalling delinquent representatives.

Generally, the report states, there was not any great dissatisfaction with the basic system of parliamentary democracy and the two-chambered parliament.

However, there was reportedly widespread agreement with the need for reform of the Senate to make it a more mature representative body with membership drawn from broader segments of the community.

"Many persons expressed the view that the Senate should be an elected body," the report states, "but without altering its powers; others felt that some senators should have security of tenure."

It also says that the early town meetings of the commission held in New Providence and the Family Islands were dominated by a discussion on the preamble to the constitution and there was unanimous support for retaining the preamble in its current form.

The preamble, which is the section at the beginning of the constitution explaining the reasons for its enactment and its objectives, points to self-discipline, industry, loyalty, unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the rule of law as being vital to guaranteeing the freedom of Bahamians.

Weeks after the appointment of Sir Arthur Hanna as the queen’s representative in The Bahamas, the report reveals that there were mixed feelings about the retention of the Queen of England as Queen of The Bahamas and head of state of The Bahamas.

It notes that there was a significant number of persons who expressed no opinion on the institution of monarchy; there were others who were of the opinion that the status quo should remain, while others were of the view that this link to the British Monarchy was inconsistent with Bahamian independence and sovereignty and should be severed while preserving membership with the Commonwealth of which queen is symbolic head.

The Commission recommends that the English Monarch shall no longer be the head of state of The Bahamas and the office of governor general be abolished.

The report also says that there was a common concern that the government did not have command of the immigration situation, and most people thought to some degree this was linked to the state of the citizenship and immigration laws.

"In particular, there was concern over the status of children born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamian parents," the report adds.

The Commission also reported that a large number of Family Island persons resonated a call for greater autonomy in local government and for the constitution to specify the relationship between the central and local government.

"A realistic study of the governmental needs of the more developed islands and the less developed should be undertaken," the report says.