Cuban government calls Trump's deportation plans unrealistic

The incoming Donald Trump administration is preparing a list of countries to which it may deport migrants when their home countries refuse to accept them, according to three sources familiar with the plans. 

The countries include but may not be limited to Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, Panama and Grenada, the sources told NBC News.

But the Bahamian Prime Minister rebuked the idea and said in a statement: “This matter was presented to the Government of The Bahamas but was reviewed and firmly rejected by the Prime Minister.”

“The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request,” the statement said.

Cuba, the Bahama’s southern neighbor, is not on the list, and Cuban government officials are calling Trump’s mass deportation plans “unrealistic.”

Trump plans to begin the process of deporting hundreds of thousands of people once he takes office. 

And it’s been reported the Trump administration is likely to end the parole programs for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. 

In the case of Cuba, as of October, 110,240 Cubans have been granted parole and are currently in the country because of the program. 

That’s a significant number of Cuban migrants, who could be in legal limbo if the parole program is eliminated by the incoming president. 

“During the dialogue, there was no talk of mass deportations,” said Carlos Fernández de Cossio, Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister. 

Fernandez de Cossio was referring to recent migration talks between the communist island and U.S. officials. He added whatever happens has to be done within the framework of the agreements between both countries. 

“And in this context, it is not realistic to think that there will be mass deportations to Cuba,” he added. “Attempting to deport thousands of Cubans to Cuba would mean uprooting people who have established a life in the U.S.”

Immigration has always been a rocky subject between the U.S. and Cuba. 

In the more than six decades since Fidel Castro took power, there have been several mass migrations from the island. 

“The regime has always seen immigration as a political weapon,” said Orlando Gutierrez, who heads the Cuban Democratic Directorate in Miami. 

Gutierrez said history shows the Cuban government uses mass migration to alleviate its internal problems. 

“It’s time for that to stop, I mean this regime cannot keep using the U.S. and the Cuban population in order to stay in power,” Gutierrez said. 

Since 2021, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports they have deported 991 Cubans back to the island. In 2024, so far they have deported 477 Cubans. In 2023, the figure was 371. 

In late 2022, it was announced the U.S. would start deporting Cubans after the government on the island agreed to take them back.