The Minister of Labor and Immigration of the Bahamas, Keith Bell, reported Wednesday that in 2022 the archipelago registered a 343% increase in the number of Cubans who intercepted on its coasts and an increase of 51% of Haitians compared to 2021.
“Statistics from the Immigration Department show significant increases in the number of migrants intercepted in the last two years,” Bell told the Bahamas House Assembly.
The minister highlighted the migration challenges the Bahamas faces and warned people living illegally in the archipelago to leave the country immediately.
“In 2021, 226 Cubans were intercepted and repatriated from The Bahamas. In 2022, this number jumped from almost 800 to 1,001 Cubans,” he added.
The Bahamian head of Labor and Immigration pointed out that the “records also reveal the same jump in irregular migrants from Haiti.”
In 2021, 2,219 Haitians were repatriated, and in 2022, there was an increase of more than 1,100 people when 3,349 were repatriated.
He also noted that the Immigration Department repatriated a total of 4,748 migrants in 2021, including 12 Americans, 13 Venezuelans, 14 Brazilians, 26 Colombians, 58 Dominicans, 66 Ecuadorians, and 125 Jamaicans.