The Bahamas announced on Thursday that it had rejected a proposal from the incoming Trump administration to accept deported migrants, as Donald Trump prepares to act on his campaign promises to drastically reduce immigration.
According to NBC News, Trump’s team has compiled a list of countries where it hopes to send migrants if their home nations refuse to take them back. However, the Bahamas—an island nation in the Atlantic—stated it had “reviewed and firmly rejected” the plan.
Prime Minister Philip Davis’s office confirmed that the government had received a proposal from Trump’s transition team “to accept deportation flights of migrants from other countries.” The statement added that since the prime minister’s rejection, there had been no further discussions with Trump’s representatives.
Other countries reportedly under consideration include Turks and Caicos, Panama, and Grenada, NBC sources said. The Trump team has not commented on the Bahamas’ rejection, which sheds light on part of the president-elect’s approach to implementing radical immigration reforms.
The proposed deportation strategy could leave migrants stranded in nations where they have no ties. It remains unclear whether these individuals would be allowed to work in the host countries or what measures Trump’s administration might take to pressure nations into compliance, NBC reported.
Trump’s campaign heavily emphasized anti-immigration rhetoric, claiming migrants contribute to crime and promising mass deportations. He portrayed immigration at the southern U.S. border as an “invasion,” using inflammatory language to accuse migrants of committing heinous crimes and threatening American society.
He has also vowed to crack down on migrant groups using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which permits the federal government to detain and deport foreigners from hostile nations. Trump further courted controversy by spreading false stories, such as claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets.
Last month, Trump announced the return of Tom Homan, a hardline immigration official who led enforcement efforts during his previous administration, to oversee border policy.
The Bahamas’ rejection comes amid broader debates on deportation policies. A similar plan by the United Kingdom to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was scrapped earlier this year after Labour leader Keir Starmer replaced the Conservative government.
