Illegal immigrants facing deportation could be sent to places other than their home countries under a plan developed by President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team.
Deportation can be stalled when a nation, such as Venezuela, refuses to accept citizens America wants to deport.
To address that, Trump’s aides are trying to develop a list of nations that will accept illegal immigrants who are not citizens of that nation, according to NBC, which cited sources it did not name.
NBC listed multiple nations in and around the Caribbean Sea as possible destinations, including Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, Panama and Grenada.
The office of Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said it was approached by the transition team but rejected the concept, according to the Guardian.
Mexico, which has also been mentioned as a possible destination for illegal immigrants, wants to avoid taking deported illegal immigrants from other countries, according to Reuters.
“We hope to reach an agreement with the Trump administration so that, in case these deportations happen, they send people from other countries directly to their countries of origin,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum did not say Mexico would flat-out refuse deported illegal immigrants.
NBC’s report said Trump could use the threat of tariffs against Mexican products to force Mexico to accept illegal immigrants from other countries.
NBC reported that in 2019, Trump flew some illegal immigrants being deported to Guatemala.
NBC said the numbers involved were small, and that practice ended in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic dawned.
The NBC report said that the Trump administration is trying to develop a system that can deport illegal immigrants within a week of their arrests.
Hellbound and Down 