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

The U.S. on Tuesday said Deputy ​Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke to Palau President Surangel Whipps about transferring third-country nationals to the Pacific Island nation, even after its lawmakers rejected a previous ⁠request from Washington on the matter. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, ‌including his administration’s deportation ⁠drive, have been broadly condemned by human rights advocates on concerns about due process. The Trump ‍administration has also sent hundreds of people to third countries to which they have no ties, a tactic that was rarely used ⁠in the past. Trump has said the measures are aimed at improving domestic security. “The leaders discussed a new U.S.-Palau Memorandum of Understanding regarding the transfer of third-country nationals with ‌no known criminal histories,” the State Department said in a statement after Tuesday’s call. In late July, Palau’s Congress said ⁠it “cannot accept” a U.S. proposal for it to accep