Cuba calls Trump’s proposed mass deportation of immigrants "unrealistic and unfair," urging adherence to U.S.-Cuba migration accords. Trump aims to deport record numbers, focusing on criminals, but faces criticism for potential community and family impacts.
HAVANA (Reuters) -A proposal by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for mass deportation of immigrants living illegally in the United States that may include Cubans is unrealistic and unfair, Cuba's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Trump has pledged a vast immigration crackdown, aiming to deport record numbers of immigrants, an operation that his running mate JD Vance estimated could remove 1 million people a year.
Wednesday's comments by Carlos Fernandez de Cossio followed routine migration talks in Havana with counterparts from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
Any such deportation proposal must be vetted within the bounds of existing migration agreements between the United States and Cuba, he told reporters.
"In that context, it's not realistic to think that there could be mass deportations from the United States to Cuba," de Cossio said.
Under existing accords, Cuba has accepted small numbers of deportations from the U.S. by air and by sea during the Biden administration.
Trump's incoming border czar Tom Homan has said deportations would focus on criminals and those given final deportation orders, but has not committed to exemptions for specific groups or nationalities.
The Trump deportation proposal was not discussed with Biden officials during Wednesday's two-way migration talks, de Cossio said.
A U.S. delegation had met Cuban officials in Havana to review the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords, which date back to 1984, Brian Nichols, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, said on X.
"(The delegation) highlighted our success curbing irregular Cuban maritime and land-based migration," Nichols said.
It was unclear whether Trump would abide by existing accords with Cuba or seek to renegotiate them, as he has in other circumstances.
For decades, Cuba has blamed the U.S. Cold War-era trade embargo for decimating its economy and encouraging the mass migration of Cubans to the United States.
But a large-scale deportation to send them back home would be drastic and unfair, de Cossio said.
"Trying to deport tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Cubans to Cuba ... would be uprooting people who have already made their lives in the United States," he added.
Trump struggled to ramp up deportations during his first term, from 2017 to 2021.
When counting both immigration removals and faster “returns” to Mexico by U.S. border officials, Biden deported more immigrants in fiscal 2023 than in any Trump year, government data shows.
Immigrant advocates warn that a broader Trump deportation effort would be costly, divisive and inhumane, leading to family separations and devastating communities.
The Trump administration is pressing ahead with new immigration rules that will impose fixed time limits on visas for foreign students, cultural excha...
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has called for a renewed round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks during a two-day visit to Kyiv, as Ankara seeks to r...
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one U.S. astronaut successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tu...
Cuba's national power grid collapsed on Tuesday, leaving millions of people without electricity and marking the third major nationwide blackout in just nine days.
Cuba said it had reconnected most of the country to the national grid by late on Tuesday (7 July), though millions remained without power as the island nation struggles to generate even one-third of current demand during an ongoing U.S. fuel blockade.
The U.S. has arrested Adys Lastres Morera, the sister of the head of GAESA, a military-run business group which owns Cuba’s most profitable enterprises, including the island’s five-star hotels, and its largest port.
Russia pledged support for Cuba on Thursday after the U.S. indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro on murder charges linked to the 1996 downing of exile planes, escalating tensions between Washington and Havana.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
The U.S. military announced that it has completed a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets under U.S. President Donald Trump's orders. The operation targeted command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance sites across multiple locations.
The death toll from the fire at a live music pub in Bangkok has climbed to 32 after two more victims died from their injuries, according to Thailand's Police Hospital.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged fresh attacks on Tuesday, with Kyiv targeting shipping and energy infrastructure inside Russia while Moscow launched another large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukrainian cities.
The Trump administration is pressing ahead with new immigration rules that will impose fixed time limits on visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists, tightening requirements for thousands of people who study and work in the U.S.
Keir Starmer has reaffirmed that the UK's "unwavering" support for Ukraine will continue, during his final visit to the country as Prime Minister.
Two British hackers who carried out a cyberattack on Transport for London (TfL) that cost the transport authority £29 million to remediate have been jailed for a total of 11 years.
At least 11 people have been killed and 19 injured in a fire at an orphanage on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, state media reported. The blaze broke out early on Thursday at the institution in the eastern suburbs of Algiers.
A woman whose husband was sucked out of the window of a plane during a Ryanair flight has recounted pulling her husband to safety. Serbian couple Svetlana Maksimovic and Ljubisa Karovic had just settled into a flight with the airline last week, when a loud bang pierced the hum of engines.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment