The Tribune

US Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have asked the Trump administration to waive or suspend certain visa requirements for Bahamian storm victims with relatives in the United States.

In a letter sent to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the Republican senators asked the president “to waive, or otherwise suspend, certain visa requirements for affected citizens of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas who have relatives in the United States with whom they can reside as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives and their country.”

The letter continued: “As Americans, and others throughout our hemisphere and across the globe, work to provide aid and assistance for the many needs of the Bahamian people at this time, perhaps one of the most basic yet meaningful steps our government can take immediately is to ensure that those who have lost everything, including family members in some instances, are provided the opportunity for shelter and reunification with family in the United States.

“Florida enjoys historically deep ties with the Bahamas and, by proximity, many Floridians have family in the Bahamas. While parts of the Bahamas endured sustained winds of 180 miles for almost two days, Florida watched and prepared for Dorian’s landfall. Although Florida’s east coast continues to experience high winds and storm surges, our state is fortunate to avoid a direct hit. Floridians are now eager to help their family and friends in the Bahamas.”

According to The Miami Herald, the plea from the two senators came after Florida state Rep Shevrin Jones, a Bahamian-American with family in the Bahamas, called the two to ask them to help provide sanctuary to those affected by Hurricane Dorian.

The Florida newspaper reported that the senators’ request “is not the same as Temporary Protected Status, a temporary legal status given to foreign nationals of designated countries affected by armed conflict or natural disaster, which allows people to live and work in the United States for limited times.”

The report said: “The measure proposed by Rubio and Scott would allow citizens of the Bahamas to stay with family in the United States while the country rebuilds in the wake of Hurricane Dorian’s destruction. It is unclear if TPS is being discussed. In a Wednesday conference call between members of Congress and the State Department, a State Department official said the agency is focused on processing visa adjudications from the Bahamas quickly instead of offering TPS to Bahamians in the US. The official said it is the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to grant TPS to the Bahamas.”

Meanwhile, President Trump gave reporters an update at the White House yesterday on US efforts to help this country.

“We have been sending through the United States Coast Guard who have been incredible,” Mr Trump said. “They’re on the Bahamas right now and they’re helping with the Bahamas.

“A big section of the Bahamas was hit like few people have seen before, but we’re helping in a humanitarian way. We’ve been asked to help by the government of the Bahamas and we have numerous helicopters and we’re sending some people to give them a hand, they need a big hand, what’s going over there is incredible. Few people have seen anything like that.”