Bahamas Rejects Trump Plan to Accept Deported Migrants

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Facts

  • On Thursday, the office of Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis rejected a plan from Pres.-elect Donald Trump's transition team to deport migrants to the Bahamas when their home countries refuse to accept them.[1][2]
  • Davis stated that the Bahamas 'simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request.' The statement concludes that the Bahamas 'remains committed in its position.'[2]
  • Trump promised to initiate the largest deportation operation in US history upon taking office. As of 2022, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that there are 11M unauthorized individuals living in the country.[1]
  • Trump's deportation plan includes other Caribbean nations, including Turks and Caicos, Panama, and Grenada as potential destination countries for migrants.[3]
  • During his previous term, Trump implemented a similar policy with Guatemala, where asylum seekers were sent back under a bilateral agreement that remained in effect until 2020.[4]
  • The Trump team is currently trying to persuade the Mexican government to accept deportees from the US who are not Mexican.[4]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]Office of the Prime Minister, [3]France 24 and [4]Semafor.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Mail and Newsmax.com. President Joe Biden's immigration policies have made the US less safe. Therefore, Trump will need to utilize all his powers, including his negotiation skills with other nations, to address this issue. His plan builds upon a previous successful agreement he had with Guatemala. Although the Bahamas' rejection is a setback, it's minor compared to what Trump will ultimately achieve.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. This policy is illegal, and the Trump team knows this from the numerous court challenges it lost in his first term. Even worse, there's an unfathomable amount of cruelty that goes into deporting people to countries where they don't know anyone, the culture, or the language. The Bahamas has stood up to Trump, and it'll be up to other countries, as well as organizations in the US, to do the same.

Predictions