Father Esteker, a Haitian national who has served as pastor of the Queen of Peace Church on Faith Avenue for more than one year, was taken into custody by immigration officials and transported to Carmichael Detention Centre last week.
Speaking with The Tribune yesterday, Archbishop Patrick Pinder of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nassau said that Father Esteker was apprehended because he was not carrying his work permit at the time of the incident.
Father Esteker was later released when officials at Carmichael Detention Centre were able to verify his legal status.
The Archbishop, who said he was very concerned that a member of his Archdiocese had been taken into custody, said there is no law which requires immigrants to carry proper documentation at all times.
“This poses a problem. It’s really difficult for the immigration officials. It is something, perhaps, that needs to be looked into,” he said.
When The Tribune contacted officials yesterday, Assistant Director in the Ministry of Immigration William Pratt said that government is in the process of “fine tuning” its round-up operations.
Mr Pratt said the Ministry of Immigration spends a lot of money and manpower each year in apprehending and subsequently releasing legal immigrants who are not in possession of their documents at the time of round-ups.
“What we are looking into now in this new budget year to alleviate this problem are two things. We are planning to soon issue wallet-sized documents and also provide laptops for our buses,” he said.
Mr Pratt said that immigration buses with laptop computers will allow officers immediate access to the ministry’s data base and make identity verification easier.
He acknowledged that many immigrants do not carry their documents on them in fear of being robbed.
Mr Pratt said that, although he understands the concerns of immigrants, immigration officials cannot accept photocopies of the necessary permits.
“We’ve had problems with photocopies. Often they are photo-shopped. Or someone just sticks a photo of himself over an original document,” he said.
Mr Pratt explained that the new wallet-sized documents will serve as an official copy of an
immigrant’s original papers. “That way they won’t have to carry the old bulky papers around with them and still have documentation on their body,” he said.
Mr Pratt said the ministry hopes these initiatives will save money and manpower, as well as prevent people like Father Esteker from being inconvenienced by being caught up in an immigration raid by mistake.
Father Esteker was apprehended while standing at a bus stop on Farrington Road together with two other Haitians.
“One of the men was here illegally, the other was in possession of a Bahamian passport. Father Esteker, although he has a valid work permit, did not have it on him at the time,” Archbishop Pinder explained.
Father Esteker, along with one of the men, was placed on the bus and taken to Carmichael Road Detention Centre.
The priest asked to make a telephone call to contact the Archbishop, but was told that there was no phone on the bus and that he would have to wait until they arrived at the detention centre.
At the centre, one of the junior officers recognised Father Esteker as a Catholic priest and told his fellow officers to allow him to make the phone call. Father Esteker called the Archbishop and asked him to bring his documents, including his work permit, to the detention centre.
Archbishop Pinder said that by the time he arrived at the Carmichael Road facility, Father Esteker had already been released, as the immigration officers had verified his legal status.
Father Esteker said the officers treated him “kindly” during the entire incident.
By KARIN HERIG Tribune Staff Reporter
