PALAU will take 75 people deported from the United States in a deal struck late last year.
President Surangel Whipps Jr said he would honour the agreement despite concerns from human rights groups.
Whipps defended the move, saying the deportees were third-country nationals and skilled labourers who had no criminal records. None of the deportees is Palauan.
Palau will receive $USD7million – around $USD93,000 per deportee for support services, infrastructure, and a new hospital.
Whipps admitted there was local opposition to the move but told the radio Australia’s Pacific Beat programme that a group of chiefs, women leaders, and political leaders supported the agreement before it was signed.
“The idea that we’re getting a band of criminals that will come here and destroy Palau is really unfair,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“These are good people, they have been working, they want a good life and a safe life. And I think that’s what Palau can offer these people,”
The deportations are part of an initiative by US President Donald Trump to remove what he deems to be undesirable elements of society. Last week, Trump announced visa restrictions on Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu designed to stop overstayers.
The restrictions include cash bonds, which must be paid on application for a visa. The money will be refunded once the applicant returns home within the time stipulated on the visa.
Trump’s immigration policies, including the planned deportations and visa bonds, have been condemned by Pacific human rights advocates on concerns about due process.
There is also concern over the economic impact of the deportation of Pacific people from the US.
Additional Source: Pacific Beat
