Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Rawdon Turner used his contribution to Tuesday's House of Representatives debate to accuse Barbuda MP Trevor Walker of misleading the public by linking the government's resolution on third-country nationals to Antigua and Barbuda's Citizenship by Investment Programme. According to Antigua.news, Turner told the House the two issues are entirely separate.
Turner charged that Walker had failed to support what he called "a sensible framework to negotiate on behalf of the people of Antigua and Barbuda" during the debate.
"You offered no support as a Member of Parliament, something that's in the best interest of the people. You offer zero support for it. Zero support," Turner said.
The minister accused Walker and his opposition colleagues of using radio soundbites and social media posts to persuade the public that the government is accepting deportees due to pressure related to the CIP.
"You spin every issue to deceive the people into believing that the sole reason for us being asked to accept third party nationals is because of our CIU units," Turner said.
To demonstrate that the third-country nationals issue extends well beyond the CIP, Turner read into the record a list of 33 countries he said have been approached by Washington to accept such individuals. The list included Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Rwanda, Uganda and Poland.
"How many of those countries are engaged in the CIU? Y'all must stop deceiving the people," he said.
Turner's remarks came as the House considered a resolution laying out the principles that would govern any eventual agreement with the United States on the transfer of third-country nationals removed from that country. The debate follows the government's publication of a white paper on the matter earlier this month.
The resolution states that Antigua and Barbuda will not accept a standing or open-ended programme, and that no individual would be transferred without prior government approval on a case-by-case basis.
Turner said the safety of the country was "paramount," warning that accepting individuals with criminal backgrounds could damage the nation's reputation as a tourist destination. "If we accept any criminal element in this country from the United States, it will be the same United States that will turn around and say Antigua is an unsafe place so [US] tourists should not go there," he said.
The minister, who represents the St Peter constituency, added that he would not have backed the arrangement if it posed a risk to his own community. "I can't go back to the people of St Peter and tell them that I'm going to accept criminal elements to be deported to this country," he said.
Closing his contribution, Turner called on both sides of the House to set aside political differences and present a united front in the negotiations with Washington, framing the matter as a national rather than partisan issue.
"Beat us on any other thing you want but we must show a united front on this matter because it is a national issue," he said.
