Bahamas plans tougher smuggling laws as US presses migration issue

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The Bahamas is proposing to impose harsher penalties on human smugglers, a move that officials say they hope will help dismantle criminal organizations that use the Caribbean nation as a staging point to smuggle migrants into the United States.

“The Bahamas will not be a stepping stone for illegal migration into the United States,” Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis told Reuters on Thursday. “We are tightening our laws, stepping up joint operations with the U.S. government and the Trump administration, and dismantling the smuggling routes that run through our islands.”

Under proposed legislation, anyone convicted of endangering the life of a migrant, smuggling a pregnant migrant, or smuggling a group of more than 10 migrants would face fines of up to $300,000 and 15 years in prison.

Anyone convicted of arranging the illegal landing of a migrant into another country through the Bahamas would face lesser penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and seven years in prison.

Existing Bahamian law does not address human smuggling, although it does include penalties for unlawfully entering the country and living without proper documentation.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to the move.

Located less than 60 miles (97 km) from Florida, the Bahamas is often considered to be the United States’ third border, given the proximity between the countries. As a result, it frequently serves as a transit route for migrants seeking to reach the United States.

Addressing illegal immigration is a top priority of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. The issue came up when Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Caribbean leaders, including Davis, in May, according to a State Department readout of the meeting.

Last month, the State Department instructed U.S. embassies abroad to report on the public safety impacts of mass migration, saying it “poses an existential threat to Western civilization.”

(Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Christian Plumb and Rod Nickel)