Countries across the Americas are bracing for U.S. president-elect’s plan to carry out a mass deportation operation.
The Bahamas yesterday rejected a proposal from the transition team of Donald Trump to take in migrants from other countries who may be deported by the incoming administration.
In a statement, the office of Bahamian Prime Minister, Philip Davis, said the scheme to have the Bahamas accept deportation flights “was reviewed and firmly rejected. The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request,” Davis’s office said.
“Since the Prime Minister’s rejection of this proposal, there has been no further engagement or discussions with the Trump team or any other entity regarding this matter. The Government of The Bahamas remains committed in its position.”
Trump, who won last month’s U.S. presidential election and will take office on January 20, has promised to carry out the “largest deportation operation” in the country’s history. The proposed effort has spurred condemnation from rights advocates and raised questions about the feasibility of removing millions of undocumented immigrants from the country.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates 11 million “unauthorised” people lived in the U.S. as of 2022. The Bahamas census for the same year shows the country has less than 400,000 people total.
Trump’s deportation plans will also likely test the limits of his power as president, as any “mass deportation” would involve legal challenges and cooperation with foreign governments.
Citing three unnamed sources, NBC News reported earlier on Thursday that Trump’s team was preparing a list of countries that it could send migrants to should their home countries not agree to take them back.
The list included the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Panama and Grenada, the sources told the US news outlet.