They include 33 men, 12 women, and a child, most of whom have been at the facility for several months.
Among the Cubans still at the centre are some of the migrants who authorities said were responsible for a fire at the centre in December 2004. It means that some of the migrants have been at the facility for 18 months or longer.
“The Haitians, we can get an agreement with the government of Haiti to send them back in a day or two,” explained Immigration Minister Shane Gibson on Thursday.
“Every Cuban who is at the Detention Centre now is there because we have not gotten permission from the Cuban government to have them received. The minute we get permission, the next available flight we will send them back.”
Minister Gibson also revealed that local authorities were thinking about finding a third country that would be willing to accept the migrants.
He also confirmed that one of the five men who escaped from the centre last week Thursday had been detained for at least 18 months.
The Cubans were picked up in Florida days after their escape and were being held at the Krome Detention Center. Minister Gibson pointed out that because the men had already made it to shore, under US policy they will be allowed to stay in the United States.
Following the escape last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt said the Cubans were proving to be the more problematic detainees at the Detention Centre.
“We know that most of our problems are from the Cuban refugees,” Mrs. Pratt said.
She said because the Cubans tend to be at the centre longer than the Haitians, they tend to become more aggressive and they have a longer time to think about how to escape.
In the House of Assembly on Wednesday, Minister Gibson said it was time to negotiate a new agreement with the Cuban government regarding their citizens who end up in The Bahamas illegally.
“It is a known fact that some members of the Hispanic community in South Florida throughout the years have systematically assisted Cubans and other non-U.S. citizens in gaining entry into the United States using a variety of methods,” Minister Gibson charged.
“However, the most common mode of transport is by way of go-fast boats-Efforts will be made to initiate discussions with the Cuban government to revise the existing Memorandum of Understanding.”
In a 1996 Memorandum of Understanding, Nassau and Havana agreed that illegal Cuban migrants found in Bahamian territory would be sent back to Cuba within about 18 days.
The minister also explained that there are some categories of Cuban nationals who are not allowed to return like those convicted of offenses outside of Cuba, any national who would have been a resident in the United States and have found their way to The Bahamas as well as persons who have overstayed their exit visa.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
