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3,900 people evacuated from the Bahamas arrive in South Florida

2019-09-13T14:49:29.711Z


Only a few have been declared inadmissible, said Diane J. Sabatino, director of field operations at CBP. Officials are making those decisions on a case-by-case basis and among the reasons ...


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(CNN) - Some 3,900 evacuees who escaped the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas have reached southern Florida by air and sea, authorities said.

Only a few have been declared inadmissible, said Diane J. Sabatino, director of field operations at CBP. Officials are making those decisions on a case-by-case basis and among the reasons for inadmissibility, Sabatino said, are previous immigration violations and criminal records. She would not provide CNN with the exact number of people who were denied entry.

LOOK: Death and destruction see Dorian survivors in Marsh Harbor, The Bahamas

“We are not abandoning the law here. We are certainly responsible and our priority mission is to ensure the integrity of the border, ”said Sabatino. "We are certainly not going to abandon our priority mission of ensuring the integrity of the border and preventing the entry of people seeking to harm this country."

The number includes US citizens, legal residents, Bahamians and people from other countries who evacuated the islands after the storm. Does not include lifeguards or volunteers. And it does not include Nassau traffic derived from normal business operations.

Aerial view of the damage on the Great Abaco Island, on September 4. Scott Olson / Getty Images)

These are not routine days for the 2,800 employees it manages, Sabatino said. Additional agents have been available to prosecute evacuees and in cases of emergency, the process has accelerated.

“We are very understanding. It is devastating what happened in the Bahamas. And our efforts have focused on making sure that these people are received in the safest way possible and will certainly provide the support they need when they come, ”Sabatino said. "We have had several medical evacuations, emergency medical evacuations and we have made sure not to delay that process in any way and accelerate them."

Students enrolled in schools

Public schools in Palm Beach County, Florida, have begun enrolling displaced students from the Bahamas, said school district spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste.

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Evacuated youth are welcome at any school in the district and can register at a central welcome office, he said.

The Palm Beach County Education Foundation provides backpacks loaded with school supplies to students, who plan to open their school supply store so evacuated families can buy for free, said Houston Trieste.

The district's welcome center, which supports K-12 students “who were born or attended school outside the United States,” also connects families with community resources to establish themselves, says its website.

Evacuees will not be granted a temporary protection status

The White House has increased staff to help expedite the processing of US visas for evacuees from the Bahamas, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday.

However, there are no open shelters for evacuees from the Bahamas in Florida, DeSantis said. And the Trump administration will not grant a temporary protection status, a form of humanitarian aid, to Bahamians, according to an administration official.

MIRA: A new tropical system could impact northern Bahamas

TPS applies to people who would face extreme difficulties if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters. Therefore, protections are limited to people who are already in the United States.

CNN contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State, which is one of those who generally participate in the consultation, for comments. The State Department referred the questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which has not yet responded.

Priscilla Alvarez of CNN contributed to this report.

Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-09-13

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