In a formal announcement made this Wednesday, Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez confirmed that the Caribbean nation has entered into a 12-month memorandum of understanding with the United States that will see the country accept roughly 30 deported third-country migrants from U.S. territory each month.
Under the terms of the agreement, the incoming migrant group will not include Haitian citizens or unaccompanied minor migrants, Álvarez clarified. During their stay in the Dominican Republic, which is projected to last between one and two weeks, local authorities will coordinate logistics for the migrants’ eventual repatriation to their countries of birth or origin.
Crucially, all costs tied to the transit and repatriation process will be fully covered by the U.S. government, while the International Organization for Migration will provide operational support to Dominican agencies tasked with overseeing the program. At the time of the announcement, Dominican officials had not yet finalized a location to house the incoming deportees, but confirmed that all migrants will be kept under consistent supervision throughout their stay in the country.
Addressing growing public and political scrutiny of the deal, Álvarez pushed back against claims that the Dominican government was pressured into signing the agreement by U.S. officials. He emphasized that the memorandum is a non-binding arrangement that in no way undermines the Dominican Republic’s national sovereignty.
The foreign minister also noted that the country is far from alone in adopting this policy framework, pointing to existing similar agreements already in place between Washington and other Latin American nations including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, and Paraguay. Álvarez repeatedly stressed that the arrangement is designed solely as a temporary transit mechanism, and it will not result in permanent resettlement of these migrants in the Dominican Republic, nor does it open any pathways for formal permanent immigration status for the group under Dominican law.