On Sept. 1, Category 5 Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas. Ten days later the death toll is near 100, and literally thousands of people are still missing. Thankfully, and through an outpouring of compassion from diverse folks and places, relief efforts are underway and some help is being received.
Reports from the islands are that almost 75,000 persons ‘lost all’ of their homes and possessions. Understandably, many victims of Dorian have been forced to flee the area because of the massive devastation. Many have attempted to flee to the U.S. Donald J. Trump, the sitting president of what is arguably the most prosperous country in the world, has publicly stated that “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.” The President’s comments came on the heels of Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan saying it would be “appropriate” to extend Temporary Protective Status to victims of Hurricane Dorian. “I think it would be appropriate to have that circumstance. History shows we’ve done that before.” He added that if it’s a “lengthy time” before residents of the Bahamas can get back on their feet; he expected the discussion to happen. Instead of allowing Bahamians into this country — which Trump said is “also recovering from the hurricane” — Trump suggested those struggling in devastated areas of the Bahamas could go to the “large sections” of their country that were not hit. “We have to be very careful. Everybody needs totally proper documentation because the Bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren’t supposed to be there,” Trump said.
