Antigua offers to take some US deportees if tourist visas are restored
A government white paper says any deal must bring clear reciprocal benefits, as Prime Minister Gaston Browne holds to a limit of 14 deportees a year against the 120 sought by Washington.
ST JOHN'S, Antigua. Antigua and Barbuda’s government says it is prepared to accept some non-national deportees from the US, particularly if Washington restores the tourist visa privileges it withdrew from Antiguans in January.
The proposal is set out in a white paper the government plans to table in parliament this week, amid growing public unease over US plans to send foreign nationals to the country.
Portions of the paper released this week have already sparked widespread debate, with many citizens fearing that “these strangers” will not fit in with local society.
‘Goodwill alone is not sufficient’
The administration of Prime Minister Gaston Browne says it has engaged Washington “in a spirit of friendship and cooperation”, but that the country must receive benefits in return.
“If Antigua and Barbuda is to contemplate receiving third-country nationals who are not its nationals, in order to assist the United States with the practical execution of its migration policy, there must also be a clear and commensurate reciprocal benefit,” the paper said.
“Goodwill alone is not sufficient. Nor can vague expectations of favourable treatment elsewhere be regarded as an adequate foundation for a decision of this kind,” it added.
The paper says the US must set out clear financial commitments covering how deportees would be housed, fed and treated medically, along with onward travel arrangements. It argues any deal must be “lawful, limited, fully funded, carefully controlled, and plainly consistent with Antigua and Barbuda’s sovereignty, capacity, and international obligations.”
Dispute over numbers
Visa privileges were also withdrawn from neighbouring Dominica. Browne has made clear he believes the move was designed to pressure Antigua into compliance.
He has insisted the federation will accept no more than 14 deportees a year, compared with the 120 the US wants to send, raising the prospect of a stalemate.
Several other Caricom countries are in advanced talks with the US. St Kitts has already received a batch of three deportees from the US, though there has been no word on how they are settling in.
