Leader of Government Business in the Senate Shenella Govia defended the Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill 2026 on Monday, arguing that the legislation strikes a balance between compassion and national security by offering a structured pathway for long-term undocumented residents to regularize their status while maintaining strict eligibility requirements.
Speaking during debate in the Upper House, Govia rejected suggestions that the amnesty amounted to an unrestricted pardon, telling senators the bill was designed to uphold the rule of law while addressing the realities faced by people who have lived in Antigua and Barbuda for years without legal status.
“This bill seeks to amend the Immigration and Passport Act of 2014 to provide a structured and time-bound amnesty for persons who have long resided among us but remain outside the legal framework,” Govia said.
She explained that under the legislation, people who have lived in Antigua and Barbuda as undocumented immigrants for at least four years, or who narrowly missed qualifying for citizenship because of a lapse in residency, may apply to regularize their status. Applicants must submit police certificates from every country in which they have lived, pay a prescribed EC$650 fee and undergo scrutiny by the Immigration Department before being considered.
Govia said those requirements demonstrate that the government is extending an opportunity while preserving accountability.
“This ensures that while we extend mercy as a country, we also uphold the rule of law and accountability,” she said.
She also emphasized that the programme contains safeguards intended to protect national security.
Under the bill, individuals who pose a threat to national security, provide false information, are subject to deportation orders or are wanted under international warrants are not eligible for amnesty.
“Amnesty is not a loophole,” Govia said. “It is a carefully guarded doorway to lawful belonging.”
Govia said the legislation also introduces a standardized application form to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability throughout the application process.
“Every applicant is treated fairly. Every application is documented and every decision is accountable,” she told the Senate.
She argued that the bill extends beyond immigration administration and seeks to address the lives of people who have become part of the country’s social fabric.
“It is about regularizing lives,” Govia said. “It’s about ensuring that families who have contributed significantly to our economy, our culture and our communities are given a fair chance to stand on solid legal ground.”
She added that many people who initially came to Antigua and Barbuda seeking opportunity have since become integral members of society, and regularizing their status would strengthen families, stabilize the workforce and reinforce the country’s values of fairness and inclusion.
Govia stressed, however, that the amnesty should not be viewed as unconditional.
“Amnesty is not unconditional. It is a covenant between the state and the individual,” she said, adding that applicants would be expected to obey the country’s laws and accept the responsibilities that accompany legal status.
The Immigration and Passport (Amendment) Bill 2026 was later approved by the Senate, clearing the way for the government to implement a two-month amnesty programme beginning July 1 for eligible undocumented residents seeking to regularize their immigration status.
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Yeah right govia, tell stupid antiguans its not ALP creating the vote base , the country where these people from must a have some compassion for us Antiguans to give us their passports and lands too like our stupid politicians are doing here on Antigua,. Both political party always have some concessions for the foreigners and nothing for Antiguans.
Another ABLP Jackass, always parroting some bullshit to keep Antiguans in the minority. I truly refer to such people as the real enemies. No wonder Trump and his type treat us as shitty as they do.
Wow.. imbeciles calling others stupid and jackass. Just imagine…
It’s amazing these aspiring politicians can get up in the Upper House and make these stupid statements with a straight face.
“Regularized” Means turning people who have flaunted our laws to escape the consequences and become voters for the political parties pushing this matter.
It will pass as a piece of legislation; and the results will be more ALBP landslide victories in future elections.
All sound and fury. Season these with ignorance, arrogance and privilege and the result of the mixture shows up in her performance.
She too thinks this will be her life forever and ever.
Antiguans must remember that Olabanjo, a close and openly acknowledged “tight” friend of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, publicly declared on local broadcasting that Antigua is under-populated and that asylum seekers were brought here to help “improve” the country’s population. That statement alone should alarm every Antiguan who still values the sovereignty, dignity, and democratic integrity of this nation.
Let us be clear: who gave any foreign national the moral authority to determine that Antigua and Barbuda’s population must be “developed” by importing people through questionable channels? That is not merely an insensitive comment—it suggests a level of influence and interference that no sovereign people should tolerate.
The consequences of this reckless approach are not theoretical. We already witnessed tragedy when seventeen of these so-called asylum seekers lost their lives, reportedly while being smuggled out of Antigua on an overcrowded local fishing boat. Seventeen human beings perished in what appears to be a shadowy operation connected to the same questionable migration pipeline. Yet to this day, the public has received no full accounting, no transparency, and no meaningful update from either the Prime Minister or Olabanjo.
Even more troubling is the fact that approximately 888 of these asylum seekers remain unaccounted for. Where are they? What became of them? Were they properly processed through any legitimate immigration system? Or were they quietly dispersed without the knowledge or consent of the Antiguan people?
These are not minor administrative questions. They strike at the heart of national security, governance, and accountability.
Adding insult to injury, the same Olabanjo who made these controversial declarations reportedly holds a senior position within the Ministry of Agriculture. That alone raises serious questions about how influence, access, and power are being distributed within the government.
Many Antiguans—both at home and throughout the diaspora—have every right to lament the direction in which this country appears to be heading. What we are witnessing feels less like careful national leadership and more like a dangerous erosion of sovereignty, pride, and self-determination.
Instead of policies that empower Antiguans, encourage the return of our diaspora, strengthen our institutions, and protect the integrity of our borders, we are being asked to accept opaque arrangements, unexplained migration schemes, and political maneuvering that benefits a small circle of insiders.
That is not statesmanship.
Statesmanship is about safeguarding the future of the nation and respecting the will and dignity of its people. What we are seeing instead is a pattern where corruption is tolerated, handouts replace opportunity, and loyalty to political power seems to outweigh loyalty to country.
Antiguans must ask themselves a difficult question:Are we prepared to continue accepting this erosion of our national dignity, or will we demand the transparency, accountability, and leadership that this country deserves?
Because if we remain silent now, we may soon find that the Antigua we once knew—our pride, our sovereignty, and our democratic voice—has been quietly bargained away.
Do we know where Trump’s rejects are being housed? Are they being housed at the same facilities that housed Gaston and Olabanjo’s migrants, and some of the Ghanaian nurses in NewWinthropes?
DID YOU FOLKS EXPECT HER TO SAY ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY THAN GASMAN BROWNE.SHE IS JUST A STOOL PIGEON FOR THE LABOR PARTY.IF SHE EVER DISAGREED WITH GASTON’S PHILOSOPHY.SHE WOULD BE BOOTED OUT OF THE SENATE.IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY.
I would check she passport to find out if she’s Antiguans sheself!
With Western and European countries decreasing their immigration influx, and targeting illegal migrants from entering their countries in thefirstinstance.
Yet, here we have the leader of Government Business Shenella ‘Ah Who She’ Govia going in the opposite direction by endorsing ABLP’S immigration amnesty.
Which ever she spins it with her misleading semantics and word salad, it will cause long-term damage to the sovereignty and social fabric of Antiguan society; and when the proverbial s#@t eventually hits the fan, in the decades to come, she’ll be long gone from the political arena.
If ever there was an issue that needed to be put to the public as a referendum. This is it!
… Antigua, Will You Stand?
How much more will we endure before we find our voice?
How much more will we watch before we decide that enough is enough?
How much more will we surrender before we remember who we are?
Every Antiguan should ask one simple question:
Are we prepared to stand for our homeland?
Not tomorrow.
Not when it is convenient.
Now.
Look around you and ask: What does it truly mean to be an Antiguan? Is it merely a place where we were born, or is it a nation whose identity, heritage, and future are worth defending?
Today, there is growing discussion about making Spanish our second language. Why? On what historical foundation does such a proposal stand? Where are the conversations with the people? Where is the justification? The people deserve answers before the identity of this nation is reshaped.
We cannot forget Chantel, a young Antiguan whose life was brutally taken. Justice should never become an afterthought. A nation that forgets its own children loses a part of its soul. How can we embraced “Spanish ” when Chantel was brutally murdered on Antigua’s soil by members from the Spanish community?
We have watched Trump’s adminstration makes decisions that affects Antiguans while our own leaders accept policies that many citizens believe deserve far greater public scrutiny. Too often, our response has been silence.
We have watched Trump’s administration imposed crippling visa restrictions on our nation’s and at the same time imposed demands on Gaston Browne’s administration to accept Americans rejects.If Antiguans have concerns about their land, their communities, or their opportunities, those concerns deserve to be heard—not ignored.
So I ask again:
How much more?
How much more silence?
How much more indifference?
How much more surrender?
A nation does not lose itself in a single day. It is lost one compromise at a time. One unanswered question at a time. One silent citizen at a time.
The greatest threat to any people is not disagreement.
It is apathy.
This is not a call to hate.
It is not a call to violence.
It is a call to awaken.
To stand.
To speak.
To organize.
To participate.
To demand accountability.
To protect what generations before us struggled to build.
No one is coming to save Antigua.
The responsibility belongs to Antiguans.
History remembers the people who refused to be silent.
Let this be the generation that refuses to look away.
Let this be the generation that stands together.
Let this be the generation that says, with one voice:
Antigua belongs to the Antiguan people, and its future must always be shaped by the will, the courage, and the determination of its people.
Stand together.
Speak without fear.
Defend your heritage.
Protect your future.
The time for silence has passed. The time for Antiguans to stand as one is now.
Antigua rise don’t bow to hegemony!
@ Colombo
People such as you should wear that cone shaped hat daily, I am quite sure you know I mean the DUNCE CAP. If you are Antiguan and Barbudan you should realize these people are trying to minimize your voice. We are already in the minority and every time there is an amnesty your Antigusns are further minimized. You might be too dunce to recognize it
@Wadadli4ever, this is one of the most heartfelt correspondences I’ve ever read on here.
I wish our politicians would understand how many of us are feeling about the ongoing erosion of our culture and the way things use to be when we not only looked out for each, but our children and communities as well.
The love of money has been truly the root of the evil that’s engulfing our tiny island today.
Antigua & Barbuda has changed, but sadly not for the better, due to the poor decision making of our politicians.
Have a blessed day, and let’s hope that at least ONE of our politicians takes a serious note of what you’ve said.
FOREVER ANTIGUAN 🇦🇬
…And we must never forget that this Spanish speaking second language was foisted upon us by this government, without any inclination in the run-up to the last General Election.
A sure sign that they knew that the majority of Antiguans would have objected it if it was mentioned during the run-up. Heartless people!
We must learn to understand thst what goes around comes around. This is very interesting. Antiguans don’t want their government to grant Amnesty to people whose status need to be regularize , but they want the United States to give them US Visa to go to America. If you don’t want t them in your country, you must stay in your country and develop your country and STOP going to people’s country. Why do you all love LIGHT in your yard and DARKNESS in other people yard. God is not sleeping. He is always awake. Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. Love your neighbor as your self. It is your right to defend your country just like is Donald Trump right to defend America. No Amnesty for none Nationals and No US Visa for Antiguans. Let the playing field to be even.
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