Bahamas monitoring US protected status withdrawal, says high level talks with Haiti are planned

NASSAU, New Providence, Bahamas – November 24, 2017 – Haitians living in the United States have 18 months to regularize their status or they will have to leave the US and the Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs says this move by the Trump Administration will impact The Bahamas.

Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield said yes, The Bahamas is watching the situation where the temporary protected status is being lifted, it is a measure welcomed by States but rejected by migrant groups who have been domicile in the US for decades.

Minister Henfield explained, the Bahamas government is organizing a mission to Haiti for high level talks on migration challenges, which he thinks should work in tandem with joint economic initiatives.

Henfield explained that he is advocating a multi-faceted approach with greater collaboration from the Haitian government moving forward; but these maneuvers he cautioned will not override Bahamian law as it relates to illegal migration.  In the Bahamas similar measures are being taken, with the deadline for regularization set for December 31, 2017; in the Turks and Caicos, the deadline is past for illegal migrants to gain legal status or leave the country.  Immigration Operations are now reactivated since the September storms in the TCI.

It is said some 69,000 Haitians will be impacted in the US by the measure, Garcelle Beauvais actress, model and producer of Haitian descent is again advocating for her compatriots.