Overview
- Dominica confirmed an agreement to accept some people seeking U.S. asylum, while providing no public details on numbers, start dates, housing or services.
- Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said discussions with the U.S. focused on screening to avoid receiving violent individuals or anyone who could compromise national security.
- Antigua and Barbuda said it signed a U.S.-proposed memorandum of understanding that is nonbinding and will exclude anyone with a criminal record.
- The policy push is linked to White House travel restrictions announced Dec. 16 on Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda that took effect Jan. 1, as Dominica presses U.S. officials to ease the limits and notes valid-visa holders can still travel.
- Officials have not released operational plans, and Dominica’s opposition leader Thomson Fontaine is demanding transparency and warning of resource strain in a country of about 72,000, with similar U.S. arrangements previously reported in Belize and Paraguay.