Five Colombians deported by US to Dominica return home

Five Colombian nationals sent to Dominica by the United States under a third-country nationals agreement have returned to Colombia, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit confirmed Wednesday.

Skerrit told a news conference that the five were the first migrants accepted by Dominica under the arrangement with Washington and that none remain on the Caribbean island.

According to the prime minister, the United States initially submitted a list of potential deportees, but Dominica rejected the names and requested additional information about the individuals.

“The United States sent us a first list of people, and we did not accept those names, and they subsequently sent us a second list of people to choose from,” Skerrit said.

Dominica ultimately selected five Colombian nationals from the second list.

“They’re all five Colombians and they came into Dominica, and they’ve all left and returned to Colombia,” Skerrit said. “It was very fast.”

The prime minister said the migrants were offered the option of returning to Colombia after arriving in Dominica, and all five agreed.

Skerrit said the International Organization for Migration was engaged to manage the programme on Dominica’s behalf, while the United States provided funding to cover expenses associated with accommodating the deportees.

The five were housed at a hotel and provided with food and other necessities during their brief stay, he said.

Skerrit stressed that the migrants did not have criminal records and caused no problems while in Dominica. He said he believed one of the five was a minor.

“I guess [they] were just people trying to make a better living in the United States and they found themselves in difficulties and had to be sent out,” he said.

Skerrit also defended Dominica’s participation in the programme, framing the decision as both a bilateral arrangement with the United States and a humanitarian issue.

“We have a higher philosophical view on humanity and the right for everybody to survive and to be regarded,” he said.

Under the agreement, Dominica has committed to accepting between five and seven third-country nationals per quarter, Skerrit disclosed.

The United States may make another request if necessary, but Dominica will review any future group according to the terms and conditions agreed upon by the two governments, he said.

“We receive the first five, and I’m sure that if the need arises from the United States standpoint, they will make another request to us,” Skerrit said.

He added that both governments have so far been respectful of the conditions established under the agreement.

Dominica is among several Caribbean countries that have reached arrangements with Washington to receive some foreign nationals deported from the United States as the U.S. government expands its use of third-country transfers.