It's been brutal': Cubans caught in crosshairs of Trump's deportation push

"When Rosaly Estevez self-deported from Miami to Havana last November, US immigration officers bid farewell by removing her ankle monitor. The 32-year-old had been told she was about to be detained, so she left with her three-year-old son, Dylan, a US citizen. It's been brutal, said Estevez. Imagine Dylan hugging his phone every night when he sees his dad. I wouldn't wish this on any mother."

"Heidy Sanchez, 43, wasn't given a choice. She was forcibly removed from Florida last April but, worrying about Cuba's failing healthcare system, she left her two-year-old daughter, Kaylin, behind with her American husband, Carlos. My little girl was still breastfeeding, she said. Waiting to get on the plane, my breasts were swollen, and I kept saying, Kaylin must be hungry.' Sanchez had struggled for years to conceive and Kaylin is her only child."

"As the US government heaps pressure on Cuba, cutting off access to its oil shipments, Donald Trump has framed the campaign as an effort to make the island safe for Cuban Americans. A lot of people that live in our country are treated very badly by Cuba, Trump said recently. They all voted for me, and we want them to be treated well. We'd like to be able to have them go back to a home in their country, where they haven't seen their family, their country for many, many decades."

US immigration authorities have increased deportations of Cuban immigrants, producing family separations and forced returns to Cuba. Rosaly Estevez self-deported from Miami to Havana with her three-year-old son after being told she faced detention; officers removed her ankle monitor before her departure. Heidy Sanchez was forcibly removed from Florida and left her two-year-old daughter with her American husband because of concerns about Cuba's failing healthcare system. Neither woman has a criminal record. Both now live near Havana while communicating with US lawyers and family. The US government has applied broader pressure on Cuba, including cutting oil shipments, and frames actions as protecting Cuban Americans.

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