The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency’s Florida office has said it was not responsible for forcing dozens of Bahamians fleeing the devastation of Hurricane Dorian to disembark from a rescue ferry headed to the Sunshine State because they did not have U.S. visas.
In an interview with Newsweek early on Monday morning, CBP Florida spokesperson Michael Silva said he was left heartbroken after hearing that more than 100 people fleeing the Bahamas were left stranded after being told to get off a Baleària Carribean ferry because they did not have the proper documentation.
“It breaks my heart because it’s like when you raise somebody’s hopes and then you pop the balloon… That, in my opinion, is what Baleària did,” Silva said. “It raised the expectations of these poor people who have been through an unimaginable situation with the hurricane…They raised their expectations only to then leave them terribly disappointed.”