The Tribune

By Donnette Russell-Love

In the world of international relations and cross-border law, data usually drives policy. When two nations are so closely linked—geographically, culturally, and economically—that their systems function as a single unit, policy decisions are typically designed to protect and streamline that integration.

But on January 21, 2026, that logic appears to have been discarded.

The inclusion of The Bahamas in the US government’s "List of 75" countries facing an immigrant visa pause is more than a bureaucratic hurdle; it is a strategic contradiction that threatens one of the most stable and profitable bilateral relationships in the Western Hemisphere. As a legal professional specializing in cross-border compliance, I find this move impossible to reconcile with the facts on the ground.

The Trust Gap: The Pre-clearance Paradox

To understand why this decision is so jarring, one must look at the concept of US Pre-clearance. There are only six countries in the entire world that host these facilities. These are not "convenience centres" for tourists; they are high-level security outposts where the Bahamian government has invited US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers onto Bahamian soil to conduct full US immigration and customs inspections.

Of those six trusted partners—Canada, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Aruba, Bermuda, and The Bahamas—only one was placed on the 75-country visa pause list.

This begs a fundamental question that remains unanswered: If The Bahamas is trusted enough to host US federal officers in Nassau and Freeport (prior to hurricane Dorian in 2019), why is it suddenly not trusted enough to process immigrant visas for the very families who anchor our society? If there is a legitimate security or administrative concern, why is it being handled with a blunt instrument rather than through the surgical, high-level coordination that a Preclearance partnership is built for?

By singling out The Bahamas while exempting all other Preclearance nations, the US government has created a "Trust Paradox" that undermines the diplomatic standing of one of its most reliable neighbours.

The $4 Billion Reality: More Than Just Neighbours

If the security logic is thin, the economic logic is entirely non-existent.

In an Economic Impact Report released by my firm on January 12th, we documented the sheer scale of the US-Bahamas trade relationship. The Bahamas is not just a neighbour of the US, they are a $4 billion-a-year commercial corridor.

Approximately 90% of everything consumed in The Bahamas—from the food on the tables and the clothes on their backs to the medical supplies in the hospitals—originates from US sources. The Bahamas is, for all practical purposes, a de facto offshore extension of the American market.

This trade is the lifeblood of Florida’s maritime hubs. Between 80% and 85% of these exports move through the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, and the Port of Palm Beach. When you restrict the mobility of the people who manage this trade—the business owners, the investors, the professionals, and the families who anchor this bilateral relationship—you are not just "reviewing a process." You are actively injecting friction into a high-performance economic engine.

The Florida Connection: The Consumer Cost

We must also look at the "hidden" economic impact that often goes uncounted in high-level diplomatic cables: the Bahamian consumer in Florida.

Our report highlights that Bahamians are among the highest per-capita spenders of any international visitor group in the State of Florida. Our travel is purposeful and frequent. We are the "repeat commercial travellers" who sustain retail centres like Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Aventura Mall, and the Town Center at Boca Raton. We are the patients filling specialized healthcare corridors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The report estimates that this relationship generates over $1 billion in annual direct impact for Florida through combined goods exports, in-state consumer spending, and service sector revenue. By disrupting the visa process and creating an atmosphere of uncertainty, the US risks a 15-20% reduction in this commerce.

In what world is it "strategic" or "rational" to jeopardise a $4 billion trade corridor with a stable, democratic, and USD-backed partner for the sake of an opaque administrative review?

The Need for Transparency and Redress

The US government owes its closest Caribbean partner more than a generic "administrative review" explanation.

If this pause is about document integrity, show the Bahamian Government the metrics so they can work with the US to fix them  - together. If it is about security, explain why the existing Pre-Clearance framework is not being used to address it. And if it is about political signalling for a domestic audience, then we must be honest about the cost being paid by Bahamian families and Florida businesses.

Stability in international relations is built on predictability and the rule of law. By singling out The Bahamas, the US has introduced an element of "political risk" into a relationship that has been a model of low-risk, high-yield cooperation for decades.

A Final Word

The Bahamas is not a distant, peripheral concern. They are a strategic partner located 50 miles from the US mainland. They graciously host the US border, and a US Embassy on their shores, and the Bahamas powers billions of dollars in Florida exports.

It is time to realign policy with the economic and security reality. It is time to treat The Bahamas with the consistency, courtesy, and respect that a Preclearance partnership demands.  Bahamian families,  Bahamian businesses, and the shared economic future of the Bahamas deserve a policy based on data and trust—not one that defies both.

Born in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Donnette Russell-Love, Esq. is a US attorney with more than 25 years of legal experience and a 19-year professional connection to the Bahamas, where she has worked closely with Bahamian individuals and families navigating the US immigration system. Her career has been shaped by the realities of cross-border life in the Caribbean, giving her deep insight into family-based immigration, waivers, humanitarian cases, and the consequences of visa denials.