Prime Minister Gaston Browne has declared that Antigua and Barbuda would sooner endure additional United States visa restrictions than accept third-country nationals with criminal backgrounds, warning that admitting such individuals would pose a far greater danger to the nation's safety and development.
According to Antigua News Room, Browne made the remarks in Parliament during debate on a resolution outlining the government's negotiating principles for any potential agreement with the United States regarding the possible transfer of third-country nationals.
"If we were faced with an option of not taking criminals and to have visa restrictions, we'll go for the visa restrictions because accepting criminals will destroy our country," Browne told lawmakers.
The prime minister was quick to clarify, however, that ongoing negotiations do not currently require Antigua and Barbuda to accept individuals with criminal records. "The negotiations at this point do not indicate that Antigua and Barbuda is obliged to take any criminal elements," he said, adding that all formal exchanges with the United States have excluded such a requirement.
Browne explained that the disagreement arose after draft language submitted by the United States failed to explicitly exclude convicted criminals from any transfer arrangement. U.S. officials, he said, indicated they could not make such a blanket exclusion because individuals who commit immigration or visa violations are also classified as offenders under U.S. law.
In response, Antigua and Barbuda proposed revised language that would bar the transfer of criminals while carving out an exception for those whose sole offence involved immigration or visa violations. "We can then amend the language to state that we will not accept criminals, with the exception of individuals who may have been involved in visa violations," Browne said.
The prime minister pointed to the country's established practice of granting periodic amnesties to undocumented migrants — many of them CARICOM nationals — as evidence of a pragmatic approach to immigration offences. He said the government would consider accepting individuals whose only infraction was a visa violation, particularly those possessing skills in demand locally, including nurses, specialist doctors, and skilled construction workers.
"What we don't want are criminal elements," Browne said. "We don't want any liabilities either."
Browne further stated that the government intends to reject individuals likely to become a financial burden on the state, arguing that Antigua and Barbuda lacks the resources to support people who cannot sustain themselves. Any agreement reached with the United States, he said, must ensure that only those capable of contributing to national development are considered for transfer.
