The Pacific island nation of Palau has reached an agreement with the Trump administration under which it would accept as many as 75 migrants from other countries, in return for $7.5 million in U.S. assistance.
Under the arrangement, the individuals, none of whom face criminal charges, would be permitted to reside and seek employment in Palau, a move officials say could help fill gaps in the country’s workforce, according to a statement issued by President Surangel Whipps Jr.’s office.
Whipps said Palau would evaluate arrivals under the agreement individually, emphasizing that the country would “have to agree on a case-by-case basis as to individuals who will be arriving in Palau under the arrangement.” He added that each person would be vetted through Palau’s national working group.
The U.S. Embassy in Koror, the capital of Palau, echoed that position in a separate statement confirming the terms of the deal: “The United States deeply appreciates Palau’s cooperation in enforcing U.S. immigration laws, which remains a top priority for the Trump Administration. In this regard, the United States granted $7.5 million to address the needs of relevant Palau public services.”
The Trump administration has sharply expanded the use of deportations to nations where migrants lack personal ties, according to a new review of publicly available immigration court records. In recent weeks, attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security submitted nearly 5,000 requests to terminate pending asylum cases, effectively directing applicants to pursue refuge outside the U.S., a dramatic jump compared with filings earlier this year.
At the same time, U.S. officials have been negotiating so-called “safe third country” arrangements with a limited number of governments, including Honduras and Uganda.
Senior officials in Palau, along with the Council of Chiefs, a 16-member body of traditional leaders that advises Whipps, had previously pushed back against accepting relocated migrants. Their objections centered on the absence of a formal asylum framework, the lack of a resettlement system, and internal pressures that limit the country’s capacity to take on additional responsibilities.
After months of hesitation, the deal moved forward on Wednesday when Palau Minister of State Gustav Aitaro and U.S. Ambassador to Palau Joel Ehrendreich signed the agreement at a ceremony. Officials on both sides described it as another step in a long-standing partnership between the countries.
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Palau is a small Pacific nation of about 18,000 people that the U.S. administered after World War II until it became independent in 1994. Even so, the ties never really loosened. Under a compact of free association, Palauans can live, work, and study in the U.S., while Washington helps fund the local government and maintains military access to the islands. That arrangement was renewed last year under the Biden administration, with roughly $900 million in U.S. support pledged over the next two decades.
The State Department said Landau and Whipps spoke Tuesday about the new arrangement, describing the exchange as one that “highlighted U.S. commitments to partner with Palau on strengthening the country’s health care infrastructure, increasing Palau’s capacity to combat transnational crime and drug trafficking, and bolstering Palau’s civil service pension system.”