The Bahamas and Donald Trump

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The acting chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, has offered new assurances to Bahamian survivors of Hurricane Dorian that they will be allowed entry into the United States, less than a day after dozens of evacuees were forced off a ship bound for Florida because they didn’t possess visas. “We will accept anyone for humanitarian reasons, unless they have convictions for serious crimes,” he said.

The president, however, has other ideas, no doubt worried about the reaction of his base to an influx of black Bahamians.  “Evacuees had to have “totally proper documentation” he proclaimed. The United States, has “had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren’t supposed to be there… including some very bad people. We are going to be very very strong in that,”  adding that “large sections, believe it or not, of the Bahamas were not hit” by the hurricane. (It would be laughable if it were not true. Ed)

More than 100 Bahamians, trying to escape the hurricane’s devastation, were ordered off a ferry departing storm-ravaged Freeport, told by a crew member over the ship’s intercom system that if they attempted to enter the United States without a visa, ”You will have trouble”.

The Trump administration has been asked to help hurricane survivors, either by suspending traditional visa requirements, or by extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Bahamas. TPS gives citizens of countries affected by natural disasters or civil unrest the ability to temporarily live and work in the United States, a status that can be extended for years.

The Trump administration is hostile to granting and extending TPS designations. The Department of Homeland Security is currently entangled in a federal court case after seeking to terminate TPS for South Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti and El Salvador, which would strip protective status from more than 300,000 people.  Without TPS, Bahamians are left with uncertainty about their immigration status beyond the discretionary entry promised by CBP

“The United States government should help ensure that those who were left with nothing can easily seek shelter with their families in the United States,” wrote Reps. Brian Mast and Stephanie Murphy, a Republican and Democrat of Florida, respectively, in a letter calling on President Trump to “expedite, waive, or suspend certain visa requirements” for Bahamian citizens affected by the storm. The letter was co-signed by 18 other members of Florida’s congressional delegation.

Morgan has said that his agency will continue to allow for discretionary entry on humanitarian grounds—within reason. There are still people that are enemies to this country,” Morgan, adding that his agency wouldn’t send Bahamians with criminal convictions back to their storm-ravaged country, but would turn them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  (,Scott Bixby, National Reporter)

This should be a no-brainer.  These poor people suddenly find themselves homeless and jobless, owing to no fault of their own.  The Epicurean thing to do is to accept them, look after them and help the Bahamas recoup its losses.  But Trump’s first reaction is to say “no”  to foreigners, especially if they are not white.  And his “christian” base seem to think that’s acceptable.  At least the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reasonable, but for how long?  Morgan is only “Acting”.