President-elect Donald Trump's team reportedly is comprising a list of countries to which migrants could be deported if their home countries refuse to accept them.
Trump, who will be sworn into office on Jan. 20, has promised a mass deportation of illegal migrants, especially those with histories of committing violent crimes.
Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, Panama, and Grenada, are countries the incoming administration has mentioned as potential destinations for migrants not accepted in their native countries, NBC News reported.
"The Panamanian government does not respond to assumptions and rumors. We cannot speculate in this regard. We prefer to engage with the new U.S. administration once it takes office," Panamanian government spokeswoman Carmen Mora told the outlet.
Trump also wants Mexico to accept non-Mexicans, NBC News reported. That would include migrants stopped at the border in addition to deportation flights of those living inside the U.S.
Venezuela, Cuba, and China are among countries reluctant to accept back people who have emigrated to the U.S.
Cuba's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío said Wednesday that Trump's mass deportation proposal, which may include Cubans, is unrealistic and unfair, Reuters reported.
During Trump's first term, migrants were sent to Guatemala during 2019-20 as part of an agreement with that country to accept people from other countries seeking asylum in the U.S.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other pro-immigrant rights groups sued the Trump administration over the policy. The suit is still pending in federal court.
A combination of resources, court rulings, and federal bureaucracy prevented Trump from deporting many more people during his first term, The Guardian reported.
NBC News reported incoming administration officials want to start deporting migrants within a week of their arrest.
"President Trump was given a mandate by the American people to stop the invasion of illegal immigrants, secure the border, and deport dangerous criminals and terrorists that make our communities less safe. He will deliver," spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the outlet.