ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, on Monday announced an agreement with the United States (US) to facilitate third-country refugees to be sent to Dominica to mitigate scenarios where the US cannot return them to their state of birth or origin.

“In our discussions with the State Department, there has been careful deliberation of the need to avoid receiving violent individuals or individuals who will compromise the security of Dominica. This has been acknowledged and well received by the State Department,” Skerrit told a news conference.

He said, given the importance of bilateral relationships between the United States and Dominica, as prime minister and head of government, he believes “it is important to find key points of agreement and compromise between our countries”.

“This engagement is based on our responsibility to safeguard the well-being of our people, particularly their access to lawful travel, education, employment and family connections, while strengthening cooperation between our governments. I believe this will further deepen our longstanding relationship and signal clearly that Dominica remains a willing and reliable partner of the United States in the region,” Skerrit said.

Asked to disclose which countries the migrants would be coming from, Serrit said he could not share those details at this time.

“But all of the questions you have asked have been considered as part of the discussions and part of the agreement, the MOU (memorandum of understanding) between Dominica and the United States,” Skerrit said, noting that Washington “has been very respectful and reasonable and understanding of our concerns”.

“I think they have taken our concerns into very serious consideration, and those concerns are being reflected in the final document agreed between ourselves. But as time goes by, we will know how we operate this agreement,” he added.

Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has rejected allegations by the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) that the country had entered into a secret agreement with the United States to accept large numbers of deportees.

“The UPP elements and propagandists have accused my government of signing a secret agreement to accept over 100,000 criminal deportees from the US. This is a dastardly political spin, mired in lies and disinformation, designed to score cheap political points.

“We agreed to accept, possibly up to 10, non-criminal refugees, who may have skills that are in short demand locally. This is a goodwill agreement in which we will maintain the full discretion to accept or reject any recommended person.”

Browne said that the US has agreed to assist in providing biometric details and any information of criminal conduct.

He said the US Government has invited over 100 countries to assist in reducing the burden on the US, by accepting some of their refugees and or deportees.

“We have agreed to participate, limiting our intake to a maximum of 10 individuals with skills and no criminal record,” he said, noting that several countries, including Caribbean Community (Caricom), have signed off on the agreement.

“The UPP, as usual, [is] always opportunistically seeking to promote lies and sensationalism to garner public support,” he added.