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Dominica has completed the framework for the standing operating procedures governing its participation in the Third Country National Arrangement (TCNA) with the United States, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference, Skerrit said a technical team met earlier this week to finalise procedures for Dominica\u2019s port of entry, marking a key step toward implementing the arrangement. The move forms part of ongoing discussions between Roseau and Washington following the U.S. proclamation issued on December 16, 2025, which introduced partial visa restrictions for certain categories of travellers. The TCNA is intended to support the management of individuals transiting through partner countries while U.S. immigration processes are underway.<\/p>\n
While the government continues to outline the operational aspects of the agreement, the development come at a time when there\u2019s growing public discussion about Dominica\u2019s demographic trajectory. Researcher and commentator McCarthy Marie, writing recently on the country\u2019s declining birth rate, described the situation as a \u201cdemographic emergency,\u201d noting that the China\u2013Friendship Hospital recorded just 513 births in 2025 \u2014 the lowest number in modern records.<\/p>\n
Marie highlighted long\u2011standing trends, including shrinking school enrolment, an aging farming population, and Social Security pressures, arguing that Dominica is already experiencing a population deficit. \u201cMore Dominicans are now dying each year than are being born,\u201d he wrote, pointing to consecutive years in which deaths outpaced births.<\/p>\n
Against that backdrop, Marie framed the expected arrival of deportees and refugees under U.S. policy as an \u201cunlikely opportunity\u201d for population renewal. He argued that Dominica should use whatever diplomatic leverage it has to influence the composition of arrivals, recommending a focus on families with children to help counter the country\u2019s declining birth numbers. He cautioned, however, against receiving a disproportionate number of unattached single men, citing regional and global migration patterns that have historically placed social pressures on small communities.<\/p>\n
Marie contended that decisions made now could shape Dominica\u2019s demographic and economic future, noting that the window to negotiate terms is limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery family with children that settles here and builds a life is a partial answer to that number,\u201d he wrote, referring to the 513 births recorded last year.<\/p>\n
The government has not publicly addressed whether demographic considerations will factor into its discussions with U.S. officials.<\/p>\n
Skerrit did not provide a timeline for full implementation of the TCNA but said the completion of the procedural framework positions Dominica to advance the agreement\u2019s operational phase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n