United States and Grenada signed third-country deportation MOU after months of resistance
The United States and Grenada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on January 30, 2026 in Washington, D.C., allowing the U.S. to propose third-country nationals for transfer to Grenada on a case-by-case basis. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell had publicly resisted the arrangement for weeks, repeatedly telling reporters in January that Grenada had "not agreed to accept" any deportees, before signing alongside seven other Caribbean leaders at the State Department.
Actors
The United States and Grenada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on January 30, 2026 in Washington, D.C., under which the U.S. may propose transferring third-country nationals to Grenada for the government's case-by-case consideration; the MOU excludes people with criminal records other than immigration violations known to the U.S. government. Grenada's Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell had resisted the arrangement for weeks beforehand — telling reporters in early January 2026 that although "discussions along with texts of the MOU have been shared," Grenada had "not agreed to accept" any transfers, and later signaling in a January 24 interview that he would insist any accepted individuals be non-criminal and possess skills the island needed, with the U.S. bearing relocation costs.
The signing followed a broader wave of Caribbean nations reaching similar agreements after the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda effective January 1, 2026 — a sequence critics characterized as coercive pressure applied across the region. Grenada signed alongside seven other Caribbean leaders — the prime ministers of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and St. Lucia — who met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department. As of this filing, no transfers to Grenada under the agreement have been publicly confirmed.
Why we recorded this
Watching a government publicly and repeatedly decline an arrangement for weeks, only to sign it days later at the State Department itself, illustrates how diplomatic pressure — rather than an independent assessment of whether transferred individuals can be protected — can determine where people the U.S. cannot otherwise remove end up. Grenada's Prime Minister told local media in early January 2026 that his government had not agreed to accept third-country nationals; by January 30 he had signed the MOU in Washington.
Sources
- Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Grenada Concerning the Transfer of Third Country Nationals — U.S. Department of State (Case Act non-binding instruments archive) primary accessed July 31, 2026
- Grenada weighs pact to accept non-national deportees — Caribbean Life investigative accessed July 31, 2026
- Grenada PM: US invasion of Venezuela pushes the region ‘into more instability’ — NOW Grenada investigative accessed July 31, 2026
See also
- St. Lucia signed non-binding third-country deportee MOU, faced disclosure-timing backlash
- United States signed third-country deportation agreement with Burundi, setting no cap on transfers
- United States and Cabo Verde signed Asylum Cooperative Agreement diverting asylum seekers
- Sierra Leone agreed to accept US deportees, later described months in chains
- Guyana agreed to accept US third-country deportees despite no refugee treaty status
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