Nations throughout the Americas are bracing for US president-elect’s plan to hold out a mass deportation operation.
The Bahamas says it has rejected a proposal from the transition staff of United States President-elect Donald Trump to soak up migrants from different nations who could also be deported by the incoming administration.
In a press release on Thursday, the workplace of Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis mentioned the scheme to have the Bahamas settle for deportation flights “was reviewed and firmly rejected”.
“The Bahamas merely doesn’t have the assets to accommodate such a request,” Davis’s workplace mentioned.
“For the reason that Prime Minister’s rejection of this proposal, there was no additional engagement or discussions with the Trump transition staff or another entity relating to this matter. The Authorities of The Bahamas stays dedicated in its place.”
Trump, who gained final month’s US presidential election and can take workplace on January 20, has promised to hold out the “largest deportation operation” within the nation’s historical past.
The Workplace of the Prime Minister needs to deal with latest stories relating to a proposal from the Trump transition staff in the USA for The Bahamas to just accept deportation flights of migrants from different nations. This matter was introduced to the Authorities of The Bahamas…
— Latrae L. Rahming (DOC)🇧🇸 (@latraelrahming) December 5, 2024
The proposed effort has spurred condemnation from rights advocates and raised questions in regards to the feasibility of eradicating hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from the nation.
The Division of Homeland Safety estimates 11 million “unauthorised” individuals lived within the US as of 2022. The Bahamas census for a similar 12 months reveals the nation has lower than 400,000 individuals whole.
Trump’s deportation plans can even probably check the bounds of his energy as president, as any “mass deportation” would contain authorized challenges and cooperation with international governments.
Citing three unnamed sources, NBC Information reported earlier on Thursday that Trump’s staff was getting ready an inventory of nations that it might ship migrants to ought to their dwelling nations not conform to take them again.
The listing included the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Panama and Grenada, the sources instructed the US information outlet.
In 2019, throughout Trump’s first time period as president, the US signed a take care of Guatemala forcing asylum seekers who transited by the Central American nation on their strategy to the US-Mexico border to first apply for defense there.
The so-called “secure third nation” settlement allowed the Trump administration to deport individuals from third nations, corresponding to Honduras and El Salvador, to Guatemala.
It stays unclear whether or not any nations will agree to soak up deported, third-country migrants and asylum seekers when Trump takes workplace once more in January.
Final month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California sued US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to acquire information revealing how the company’s deportation flights might be expanded to hold out a mass deportation programme.
“Little is thought about how President-elect Trump would perform its mass deportation agenda, however what we do know is that this proposal has already instilled worry amongst immigrant communities,” Eva Bitran, director of immigrants’ rights on the ACLU chapter, mentioned in a press release.
“The general public has a proper to understand how its taxpayer {dollars} might be used to fund deportation flights that will tear aside not solely households, but in addition our communities.”
In the meantime, Trump continues to advertise his hardline immigration insurance policies, threatening final month to impose 25-percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada “till such time as Medication, particularly Fentanyl, and all unlawful Aliens cease this Invasion of our Nation!”
Canada has since promised to bolster border safety whereas Mexico — which has already been finishing up a crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers making an attempt to achieve the US — made the most important fentanyl seizure in its historical past this week.
Throughout a information convention on Thursday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned she hoped to achieve a take care of the Trump administration in order that Mexico wouldn’t have to soak up third-country deportees.
“We hope to achieve an settlement with the Trump administration in order that, in case these [massive] deportations occur, they ship individuals from different nations on to their nations of origin,” she mentioned.
Mexico, she added, was “in solidarity with everybody, however our predominant function is to obtain Mexicans”.
Supply
:
Al Jazeera and information businesses