The Trump Administration will not grant temporary protected status to people of the Bahamas displaced by Hurricane Dorian.
Temporary protected status, also known as TPS, would have allowed Bahamians to work and live in the U.S. until deemed safe for them to return home.
TPS, a form of humanitarian relief, normally appliesto people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands destroyed by natural disasters or war, according toCNN.
An unnamed White House official admitted to CBS Newsthat although the Bahamaians are facing a humanitarian crisis, the U.S. will not offer them TPS.
“The Bahamians impacted by Hurricane Dorian are facing a humanitarian crisis, and the American government, international partners and private organizations continue to support them with aid and services,” the official said. “At this time we do not plan to invoke Temporary Protected Status for those currently in the United States.”
Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported more than 100 Bahamaians seeking refuge and safety were kicked off a ferry headed to South Florida at Freeport Harbour.
President Donald Trump spoke out about the incident, requiring all evacuees to have “proper documentation” before entering the United States.
“The Bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren’t supposed to be there,” Trump said on Sept. 9. “I don’t want to allow people that weren’t supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers.”
Twitter was quick to call out Trump’s racist comments:
Trump on Bahamas victims: Gang members, drug dealers, bad people.
Trump on Mexicans: Gang members, rapists, drug dealers.
Trump on black athletes who kneel: Sons of bitches.
Trump on white supremacists at a rally where one of them murdered someone: Fine people.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) September 10, 2019
Call it like it is – if the evacuees from the Bahamas were white (or from Alabama), there would have been no obstacles put in place by Trump and Miller. #Disgraceful
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) September 9, 2019
Trump said he’s concerned about “very bad people” coming to America from the hurricane-ravaged #Bahamas.
He doesn’t have to look far to find very bad people. pic.twitter.com/Z1hlgxEbrs
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) September 10, 2019
TRUMP SAYS “BAD PEOPLE” COMING FROM BAHAMAS: The co-hosts react to Pres. Trump saying the U.S. has to “be very careful” as Hurricane Dorian survivors try to leave the Bahamas after the devastation on the island. https://t.co/ye7EuOr4oupic.twitter.com/R31aOiCUev
— The View (@TheView) September 10, 2019
Trump: “The Bahamas had some tremendous problems … very bad people, some bad gang members, and some very, very bad drug dealers.”
Also Trump: Let’s invite the Taliban to have a picnic on US soil during the week of 9/11.#TheViewpic.twitter.com/NJjg8c9dkT
— Charity Greenleaf’s Xanax Prescription (@rashonts) September 10, 2019
Donald Trump said that no hurricane victim from the Bahamas without a visa can come to the United States because some of them are drug dealers.
Explain why Trump’s pupils are severely dilated in these pictures.
He’s not anti-drugs. He’s anti-black people. pic.twitter.com/0BpzTQ17TM
— JRehling (@JRehling) September 9, 2019
Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm at the time, had left more than 70,000 homeless. After the hurricane rested over the island for nearly two days, moving north only at one mile per hour, 40 people have been confirmeddead while thousands are still missing. Thousands of evacuees continue to seek shelter, food, water and medical assistance in the U.S.
TPSis currently granted to over 300,000 people living in the U.S. from 10 countries, including victims of Haiti’s 2010 earthquake.
The Trump administration sought to suspend TPS for Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Sudan and Nepal, amongst others, but those original orders have all been held up in court.
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