Two more small island nations have agreed to take in foreigners seeking United States asylum.
The U.S. reached deals Monday with Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, two countries that the Trump administration recently hit with new travel restrictions.
Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit described the deal as “one of the primary areas of collaboration” after partial U.S. visa restrictions went into effect.
Dominica’s government has been in talks with U.S. officials to try to resolve the U.S. entry limitations.
Skerrit did not provide any other details, including how soon the U.S. would start sending asylum-seekers to Dominica.
Skerrit said that during discussions with the U.S. State Department, “there have been careful deliberations of the need to avoid receiving violent individuals or individuals who will compromise the security of Dominica.”
Dominica has a population of roughly 72,000. Monday’s announcement has left many locals concerned about whether the island has enough resources to absorb asylum-seekers into its population, according to Thomson Fontaine, leader of the country’s main opposition party.
“The prime minister still has not told the Dominican public what exactly he has agreed to, in terms of the numbers of persons that are going to come to Dominica, where will they be housed, how will they be taken care of,” Fontaine told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Antigua and Barbuda also announced Monday that it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding proposed by the U.S. “as part of its global efforts to share responsibility for refugees already present in its territory.”
Local government officials said Antigua and Barbuda would not be accepting anyone with a criminal record.
Last month, the Trump administration announced it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries, including Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, the sole Caribbean nations on that list. The restrictions took effect Jan. 1.
President Donald Trump’s administration has signed similar deals with countries, including Belize and Paraguay, as it continues to pressure countries in Latin America and Africa to take asylum-seekers.
Palau, a small archipelago six times smaller than Rhode Island located in the western Pacific Ocean, inked a deal in December with the Trump administration in exchange for $75 million in foreign aid after five months of negotiations.
Kemi Badenoch says US action in Venezuela was ‘morally’ right
Live updates: Trump claims Machado ‘doesn’t have the respect’ to lead Venezuela
Starmer and European allies ‘will not stop defending’ Greenland amid US threat
Pentagon plans to review ‘effectiveness’ of women in combat roles amid DEI crackdown
MAGA congressman’s office investigated by House Ethics Committee
Judge, 92, overseeing Maduro case is ‘doesn’t give a s***’ what people think
