ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC ) — Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Monday that the Government is hoping to finalise an agreement with the United States for signing this week to facilitate third-country refugees to be sent to Dominica so as to mitigate scenarios where Washington cannot return these individuals to their State of birth or origin.

Skerrit told a news conference that the draft agreement proposed by the United States calls for seven illegal migrants to be sent to Dominica every three months.

“Seven people per quarter. We have four quarters in a year so in a year there will be 28, right? No more than 28 persons,” Skerrit told reporters.

“So that is the understanding; so it is not the hundreds that people are saying, or the thousands — and the truth is Dominica needs thousands of people more, if you were to ask me,” he said.

“But so far as the agreement — and we’re hoping to finalise the agreement for signing this week — so it’s no more than seven per quarter, and we are engaging the services of IOM [International Organization for Migration] to manage this agreement from an operational standpoint on behalf of the Government of Dominica,” Skerrit added.

He told reporters he was unaware as to when the refugees would begin arriving, saying “there are some logistical issues that we have to put in place, and [we are] working with IOM and the United States Government on this.

“We have to determine whether they’re going to be renting individual locations or they will rent one building and all the persons will be housed in there, because some of the people may want to move on.

“So they [illegal migrants] may not stay in Dominica permanently. They may want to move on back to their country of origin, you understand, and so forth. And, of course, the financial aspect of it is something that we have discussions with so that we’re not out of pocket in respect to this matter,” he added.

Earlier this year Skerrit had said given the importance of bilateral relationships between the United States and Dominica, he as prime minister and head of Government does “believe 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 long-standing relationship and signal clearly that Dominica remains a willing and reliable partner of the United States in the region,” Skerrit said.

But he told reporters on Monday that he had long been advocating that Dominica needs more people for its socio-economic development, “long before the discussions with the United States came about”.

Last month a federal judge ruled that President Trump’s policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries” to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside. That decision has already been appealed at the US highest court.