The Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2025 was tabled in the House Of Assembly in October. The bill has garnered opposition from Coalition of Independents Leader, Lincoln Bain and others who are concerned about the bill allowing smuggled migrants to remain in The Bahamas.

Attorney General, Sen. Hon. Ryan Pinder appeared at a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday where he sought to provide clarity about the purpose of the bill including charging those who participate in migrant smuggling. He said, “this new law closes those gaps, closes the loopholes on prosecutions and provides a clearer and more robust set of rules to establish illegality and to increase punishment for this this heinous crime.”

The Attorney General also addressed misinformation circulating that the bill. He emphatically expressed, “the bill we tabled did not give migrants any new right to enter The Bahamas, no new right to remain in The Bahamas or to receive any legal status in The Bahamas. It did not take away any power that we have under our immigration act to arrest, to detain, to charge or to remove people who are in breach of our laws or who are in the country illegally.”

According to the Pinder the bill enhances enforcement and strengthens penalties for smugglers and protects the vulnerable. “I want to be clear, under this law, if you procure false documents for migrants, if you assist with their entry into our country, if you help them pass through our country, if you boat or your plane is used to transport them, if you hide them, if you help them stay here in this country, if you facilitate or benefit from human smuggling in any way whatsoever you will be more likely to face criminal prosecution and more likely to suffer significantly harsher consequences when this bill is passed.”

When the bill is enacted smugglers will face fines up to $300,000 and up to fifteen years in prison.