Prime Minister Gaston Browne has revealed that Antigua and Barbuda rejected a proposal that would have seen significantly larger numbers of deportees sent to the country from the United States, countering instead with a limit of 10 individuals per year.
According to Antigua News Room, Browne made the disclosure Sunday while delivering his first address as chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority, using part of his speech to address growing geopolitical pressures facing small island states and the importance of regional cooperation in responding to them.
Browne said the country has resisted efforts that would result in the return of large numbers of deportees, particularly those with criminal backgrounds.
"We have been coerced to take these deportees," Browne said, referring to discussions with the United States. "Encouraged by the great United States. And if we don't cooperate, they punish us."
He made clear that his government will not accept arrangements it believes could threaten public safety.
"As the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, I cannot willingly cooperate with any other power, any country, to destroy our beautiful twin-island state," Browne said. "And we have insisted that we will not accept any criminal elements."
The prime minister said Antigua and Barbuda had been asked to consider accepting far more deportees than the government deems reasonable.
"We want to limit the amount of individuals who they send to this country," he said. "Again, we want to be cooperative, so we are not being uncooperative here. But this idea that they could send us 120 individuals, we've said to them that is totally unacceptable."
Browne confirmed that his administration has already submitted a formal counterproposal to Washington.
"We have sent them a counterproposal. We said that we'll accept 10 annually, no more than 10," he said. "So I hope that this will not result in any acrimony and further restrictions, but that they will respect our position and respect our sovereign right to determine how many of those individuals we accept."
Despite his firm stance on deportations, Browne stressed that Antigua and Barbuda remains committed to its relationship with the United States and acknowledges Washington's right to set its own immigration policies.
"We acknowledge the sovereign right of all states to determine their border security policies," he said. "We ask only that such rights be exercised with due regard for a historically close and mutually beneficial relationship."
Browne also argued that restrictions targeting Caribbean nations carry economic consequences for both sides, pointing out that the United States maintains a significant trade surplus with the region.
"Our people purchase American goods, use American financial services, and send their children to American universities," he said. "We are beneficial partners for the American economy, not adversaries to be restricted."
The prime minister raised additional concerns about travel restrictions and their impact on Caribbean diaspora communities with family ties in the United States.
"Our largest diaspora is in the United States," Browne said. "We need to ensure that the diaspora here in the Caribbean and certainly our people in the United States can move freely."
Browne affirmed his government's commitment to cooperating with the United States on shared security interests, including the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime.
"We particularly stand with the U.S. in opposing drug trafficking and organized crime," he said. "That is our mutual interest. We too want to make sure that we have safe and secure societies."
The remarks came as Browne assumed the chairmanship of the OECS Authority for the next 12 months, a tenure expected to focus on regional integration, economic resilience and collective responses to the challenges facing small island developing states.
