Palau has accepted the first migrant deported from the United States out of a planned maximum of 75 individuals, authorities in the sparsely populated Pacific island nation announced Wednesday.
“We welcomed our first individual at the airport in late May, escorted him to his temporary residence, and helped him set up his phone and settle in,” the Palau president’s office said in a statement to AFP.
Under the Trump administration, the United States has ramped up efforts to deport undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, seeking to resettle them in third countries such as Uganda, El Salvador, and Rwanda.
With a population of around 20,000 spread across hundreds of volcanic islands and coral atolls roughly 800 kilometers east of the Philippines, Palau is one of the world’s smallest nations by population.
According to a memorandum of understanding announced last December, the Oceanian archipelago will allow up to 75 third-country nationals coming from the US to live and work within its territory.
Both parties explained that the migrants arriving from the US have no criminal records or outstanding charges, and will fill roles beneficial to the Pacific state.
Palau gained independence in 1994 but allows the US military to operate on its territory under a long-standing Compact of Free Association. In return, the United States provides hundreds of millions of dollars in budgetary support and assumes responsibility for the nation’s defense.
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