In a decisive legal intervention, the Supreme Court of The Bahamas has ordered the release of Jarvon Green, a Jamaican national who was held in custody for over two months after his deportation window had lapsed—raising sharp questions about procedural accountability in the country’s immigration system.
Green, who uses a wheelchair and had completed an eight-year prison term in February for a vehicular assault conviction, was scheduled for deportation by mid-May under a 90-day order issued by the Ministry of Immigration. However, he remained in detention well past the expiration of that mandate.
Justice Dale Fitzpatrick, presiding over the habeas corpus challenge filed on Green’s behalf, ruled that the continued detention lacked legal standing. Under Bahamian immigration law, custody must be directly anchored to a valid deportation order—something the government no longer had.
Government attorneys attributed the delay to logistical issues with Jamaican authorities. But the court made clear: administrative inefficiencies do not justify indefinite detention.
While Green walked free following the decision, his legal status remains unresolved. The ruling does not bar immigration officials from initiating a new detention process, should they secure the appropriate authority.
The case exposes a persistent grey zone in Caribbean immigration enforcement—where expired orders, bureaucratic delays, and human rights protections collide.
