US holds call with Palau on transfer of third-country nationals

The United States on Tuesday said Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau held a call with Palau President Surangel Whipps to discuss the possible transfer of third-country nationals to the Pacific Island nation, despite Palau's lawmakers having earlier rejected a similar proposal from Washington.

According to a statement from the US State Department, the two leaders discussed a new US–Palau Memorandum of Understanding regarding the transfer of third-country nationals with no known criminal histories.

President Donald Trump's immigration policies, including a sweeping deportation drive, have drawn criticism from human rights advocates over concerns related to due process. The Trump administration has also sent hundreds of migrants to third countries with which they have no prior ties, a practice that was rarely used in the past. Trump has said the measures are intended to improve domestic security.

In late July, Palau's Congress said it "cannot accept" a US proposal to take in asylum seekers from other countries.

Palau, which has a population of about 17,000, maintains a compact of free association with the United States. Under the arrangement, Washington provides economic assistance in return for military access to Palau's territory. Palau is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention.

US Catholic bishops have criticised Washington's immigration enforcement actions, and in October Pope Leo XIV expressed concern over the mistreatment of immigrants.

Last week, a federal judge signalled a willingness to again rule that the Trump administration cannot rapidly deport migrants to countries other than their own without giving them meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise fears of persecution or torture if sent there.