The Dominican Republic agreed Tuesday to accept third-country deportees from the United States, reversing a previous refusal and expanding the Trump administration’s network of countries willing to receive migrants who cannot be sent back to their home nations.
The Dominican foreign ministry announced a “nonbinding memorandum of understanding” with the United States to receive migrants detained in the U.S. who cannot easily be removed to their countries of origin. The pact excludes Haitians, unaccompanied minors, and individuals with criminal records. Deportees would be classified as “in transit” through the Dominican Republic, though Dominican law sets no time limit on transit status.
The arrangement is a clear about-face for Dominican President Luis Abinader, who stated last year that his country would only accept the return of Dominican nationals. “Only Dominicans, who we have the duty and the right to do so,” he said at the time.
Now, his government is using different language. “Cooperation between the Dominican Republic and the United States is based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and transparency, with the aim of strengthening the bilateral relationship,” the foreign ministry said in a statement announcing the deal.
The Dominican government said the number of deportees received under the agreement would be “limited” and handled on a case-by-case basis. The United States will provide “financial and operational support” to ensure adequate conditions during temporary stays and facilitate eventual return to deportees’ countries of origin, the ministry said.
Neither the Dominican foreign ministry nor the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment on projected deportation volumes or the frequency of transfers.
The deal adds the Dominican Republic to a growing list of Latin American and Caribbean nations that have signed third-country deportation agreements with Washington. El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama have entered similar arrangements, part of the Trump administration’s strategy to find destinations for migrants whose home countries are unwilling or unable to accept their return. Past deportation flights have carried migrants to countries in Africa and elsewhere under the same framework.
