By Bert Wilkinson
The debate is still raging as to whether last month’s suspension of travel to the U.S. by citizens of Dominica and Antigua was not designed as a tactic to pressure Caribbean Community countries into accepting third-country deportees from the U.S., as nations are signing on to the Trump administration’s initiative one by one.
In the past week, the governments of Guyana, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Lucia all announced that they had either signed memorandums of understanding with Washington or their talks with the administration were at an advanced stage to accept people being deported for alleged non-violent crimes such as visa overstays or of those denied asylum as well as those being rejected by their native countries.
The first sign that something was amiss emerged late last month when the State Department announced severe visa restrictions on Dominican and Antiguan citizens from the beginning of January. The state had cited, among other issues, American discomfort with the sale of passports and citizenship to foreigners in return for cash down payments and investment in development sectors. Several regional nations host such programs, mostly in the Eastern Caribbean areas such as St. Kitts, St. Lucia and Grenada, to raise development revenues to finance major state projects. The U.S. and Europe, however, have complained about their alleged inability to properly scrutinize the backgrounds of applicants from so-called “rogue” nations like Afghanistan, among others.
Opposition parties and civil society groups were quick to criticize their governments for bringing the visa ban on Dominica and Antigua, contending that local diplomats should have been able to ward this off.
Additionally, from Jan. 21, citizens of the two nations must fork out travel bonds of between $5,000-$15,000 to even apply for a U.S. travel visa. The money is refundable if the application is rejected.
In announcing details of their agreements with the U.S., governments laid bare some of the different clauses they had hammered into agreements.
Prime Minister Terrance Drew of Saint Kitts and Nevis, for example, says that only people from the region will qualify to be hosted in the federation with Nevis. And, “because of security matters, it does not include Haiti at this time. It does not involve anybody from another place outside CARICOM. So, St. Kitts and Nevis has negotiated and entered into a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. for the potential transfer of certain third-country nationals. I want us to listen carefully — this applies only to citizens or nationals of the Caribbean Community. This does not involve anybody outside of CARICOM,” the PM stated. “The cost will be borne by the country that requests us, and we have the option to determine if this is the right fit based on the scenario. These CARICOM nationals must be without violent or sexual criminal backgrounds. St. Kitts and Nevis, of course, was approached by the U.S. as other CARICOM countries, and we took a very proactive approach, sitting with the Americans to reach an arrangement that is in keeping with our principles.”
Representatives from all the nations participating so far say they have the option to quit the program at any time and insist that people with felony convictions are excluded. Guyana and Antigua both say they need people with high-end skills like doctors, engineers, and those for the construction and other related industries to assist with labor shortages.
Antigua says it will not accept a large number, with PM Gaston Browne suggesting that fewer than a dozen deportees will be allowed in.
In St. Lucia, Prime Minister Phillip Pierre is taking some political flak for only announcing the MOU in the past week, as indications are that the deal had been wrapped up several weeks ago. The trouble is that St. Lucians were preparing to vote in elections in early December, so authorities apparently withheld that information for political reasons. The governing party, nevertheless, won 14 of the 15 seats.
Meanwhile, Thomson Fontaine, leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) in Dominica, says the nation needs additional details on the arrangement as he criticized the cabinet for springing the deal on the country.
“On Monday, the Dominican public learned for the very first time that Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit had signed an agreement with the U.S. authorities to allow third-country deportees from the U.S. to be accepted here in Dominica.” He said the PM fell short of providing details “including the number of persons that are expected, their backgrounds, their country of birth, where they will be housed, and what other arrangements would be made for their well-being here in Dominica. We are therefore calling on the prime minister to reveal to the Dominican public all of the details of the agreement that was made with the U.S. authorities. It is important to do so because questions have been asked as to whether we have the capacity or capabilities to welcome and take care of the intended group of persons.”
Apart from accepting deportees, Washington has also been pressuring some countries to allow the U.S. military to set up military radars, and other facilities on their home soil, with some, like Grenada, which the U.S. had invaded in 1983, saying they are uncomfortable with such a request.
This article was originally published by Amsterdam News.
