Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle is warning that Antigua and Barbuda does not have the legal framework or institutional capacity to properly manage third-country deportees, arguing that the government’s proposed arrangement with the United States could place additional strain on public services.
Speaking during a United Progressive Party town hall meeting on the proposed agreement, Pringle said the government’s White Paper acknowledges significant legal and operational gaps that have yet to be addressed.
Pringle said Antigua and Barbuda does not have a standalone Refugees Act or legislation to deal with stateless or non-removable persons, despite the White Paper outlining the possibility that transferred migrants could fall into those categories.
“According to the white paper, Antigua and Barbuda lacks a standalone Refugees Act,” he said. “There is no legal mechanism to resolve statelessness.”
He argued that individuals who cannot be returned to either their home country or the United States could become trapped in legal limbo, leaving the country without the necessary laws to determine their status.
Pringle said those concerns extend beyond immigration policy and into the country’s broader ability to absorb additional people requiring government services.
He noted that even if the government initially limits transfers, accepting any deportees would trigger international obligations that Antigua and Barbuda is not currently equipped to fulfill through domestic legislation.
The opposition leader also pointed to language in the White Paper stating that Antigua and Barbuda is a small state with limited absorptive capacity and already-stretched public services.
He said the document itself warns that receiving deportees could negatively affect public order and social cohesion.
“So already they’re telling us they’re coming, but we’re not in a position to manage them because it can affect public order and social cohesion,” Pringle said. “If you know all the challenges that this is going to pose, how are you still telling us it’s not a matter of if they’re coming?”
Pringle questioned what practical arrangements would be in place if the agreement proceeds, including where deportees would be housed and how the government would address legal and administrative issues surrounding their status.
He maintained that Parliament cannot properly debate the proposal without access to the underlying Memorandum of Understanding and related operating documents, arguing that lawmakers are being asked to consider only the government’s interpretation of the agreement rather than the agreement itself.
The government has said Parliament is expected to debate the White Paper on the proposed third-country deportee arrangement.
Source: Antigua News Room Pringle Warns Antigua and Barbuda Lacks Capacity to Manage Third-Country Deportees.