The U.S. has finalized an agreement with the Commonwealth of Dominica, allowing asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S. border to be transferred to the island nation.
Dominica is a small nation in the Caribbean located between Guadeloupe and Martinique.
On Monday, its prime minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, said the new deal was “one of the primary areas of collaboration” shortly after the U.S. put travel restrictions on Dominica. The government has been negotiating with U.S. officials in an attempt to reverse the U.S. entry limitations, according to The Associated Press.
Skerrit did not provide details of the agreement, such as when asylum-seekers would start being sent to Dominica, per Fox News.
The prime minister said that during discussions with the U.S. State Department they deliberated the need for Dominica to avoid receiving “violent individuals or individuals who will compromise the security of Dominica.”
Trump’s efforts to have other countries take in asylum-seekers
The new agreement with Dominica is similar to previous deals the Trump administration has made with other countries like Belize and Paraguay as it encourages and pressures Latin American and African countries to take in asylum-seekers.
Another small Caribbean country, Antigua and Barbuda, also announced on Monday that it signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the U.S. “as part of its global efforts to share responsibility for refugees already present in its territory.” Government officials said Antigua and Barbuda will not accept anyone with a criminal record, per Fox News.
Dominica has a population of around 72,000. Thomson Fontaine, who leads the main opposition party in the country, told the AP that many locals are concerned about whether the country has enough resources to bring asylum-seekers into its small population.
“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 AP.
Recent U.S. travel restrictions
In December the Trump administration announced an expansion of travel restrictions to 20 more countries including Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, the only Caribbean countries on the list. These restrictions went into effect Jan. 1.
After the asylum agreement was made, Dominica’s government clarified that U.S. authorities will allow Dominican nationals who hold valid U.S. visas, including business, tourist, student and other categories, to “travel to the U.S. and its territories as is customary,” per Fox News.