Hispanic community advocate Alex Martinez has criticized last week’s immigration forum, describing it as intimidating and counterproductive for Dominican nationals.

The Immigration Department hosted its first bilingual community meeting on Friday to address residency and citizenship concerns among the Dominican community, one of the largest non-national groups in Antigua and Barbuda. However, Martinez said many Dominicans avoided the session out of fear after encountering armed officers and security screenings at the venue.

He argued that the meeting, intended to promote dialogue, instead left many feeling unwelcome and failed to address key issues such as long document processing times and high visa and work permit fees.

Chief Immigration Officer Katrina Yearwood rejected the criticism, saying the heightened security followed international best practices due to the attendance of senior officials and diplomats. She said no passports were checked, only standard safety screenings were conducted, and the session was deemed successful.

Immigration officials have pledged to continue engagement with immigrant communities and plan to host another forum soon.