Cuba says Trump's plan to deport immigrants is 'unrealistic'

Havana [Cuba], December 5: Reuters on December 5 quoted Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio as saying that US President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to massively deport people residing illegally in the US is unrealistic and unfair.
The diplomat made the remarks to reporters after a round of talks in Havana with counterparts from the administration of US President Joe Biden. Mr. De Cossio said that the proposal to deport immigrants , which is believed to affect some Cubans, needs to be considered within the framework of existing migration agreements between the US and Cuba.
"In that context, it would be unrealistic to think that there could be mass deportations from the United States to Cuba," said Deputy Minister De Cossio.
During his campaign, Mr. Trump pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration, including a promise to deport record numbers of immigrants , a campaign that Vice President-elect JD Vance estimated could deport 1 million people a year.
Mr Trump's incoming "border czar", Tom Homan, has said deportations will focus on criminals and people with final orders of removal, but has not committed to exempting any specific groups or nationalities.
Mr Trump's deportation proposal was not discussed during the bilateral migration talks in Havana, Mr De Cossio said.
Under existing agreements, Cuba has accepted a small number of deportees from the United States by air and sea under the Biden administration. It is unclear whether Trump will stick to the existing agreements with Cuba or seek to renegotiate them, as he has done in other cases.
For decades, Cuba has argued that the Cold War-era US embargo devastated its economy and drove many people to emigrate to the US. Mr. De Cossio said a much larger deportation to repatriate Cubans would be unjust.
Mr. Trump's side did not immediately comment on the above statements.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper