St. Kitts gets first batch of US deportees

The administration of Prime Minister Terrance Drew said on Thursday that it had received three Caribbean nationals from fellow member states Jamaica and Belize in keeping with a recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) the federation signed with the US earlier this year.

The deal allows the US to dump people eligible for deportation to the region. Governments have said that they will only accept persons with engineering and other skills and those who have been detained for immigration, misdemeanor, and similar crimes.

And while several countries have signed MOUs with the US to participate in the program, the federation is the first to have publicly admitted that it has accepted a first batch. The administration also stated that the three have not been classified as criminal deportees but rather as immigration violators.

“Officials have further clarified that the individuals are not being transferred as a result of criminal convictions,” the government statement noted. “Their removal from the United States is linked to immigration violations. The individuals retain the option, at their discretion and in accordance with the laws and immigration requirements of their respective countries of nationality, to return home if they choose to do so.”

Other nations like Dominica have tried to establish a fixed number of deportees with neighboring Antigua, suggesting that it prefers to intake no more than 10, while larger and more resource-rich countries like Guyana are fixing to accept a much larger number.

The nations say they have also negotiated support mechanisms with the US to maintain the deportees while in the country, while the US has agreed to provide biographical data and medical records to receiving countries.

“Under the terms of the agreement, the transfer is being executed at no financial cost to the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis,” the government said. “Upon arrival, the individuals will be processed through standard immigration and security protocols and will be accorded the immigration status and legal provisions typically extended to CARICOM nationals within the federation.”