What is Antigua and Barbuda but not a majority black country?
Written by Franchesca Sterling
“Non-refoulement is a fundamental principle of international law, primarily within refugee and human rights law, prohibiting states from returning (or ‘refouling’) any person to a country where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, or other irreparable harm.”
This may be one of the reasons why the United States is seeking to spread the burden of persons who have illegally entered the United States, rejected asylum seekers, non-immigrants who overstayed their U.S. visas, and others presently residing in the country. This may also explain why President Trump’s Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller’s plan to deport arrested foreigners in the United States to other countries in the Western Hemisphere is viewed as an attractive option.
This is also why I rebuke persons within our region who use phrases such as “import labour” for projects, because in doing so, you are only enabling the harmful situation while remaining mentally enslaved yourselves.
I am not a xenophobic person. I love all people irrespective of race, ethnicity, nationality, creed, sexual orientation, age, or religion. I vehemently dislike bigotry and persons who treat others with indignity. My natural instinct is to be humanist, and it is why I enjoy working at the Organization of American States. “More rights for more people” was the mantra that former OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro lived by and instituted at the Organization and it is one that I continue to believe in.
On the matter of immigration, I have, for the past eight years, served as a Child Advocate, volunteering my services to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, managing cases involving unaccompanied immigrant children in the United States. I work with this population because they are among the most vulnerable, and the objective is to advocate for the best interests of the child, many of whom are completely oblivious to their circumstances (particularly infants between 1–24 months old) and others who possess no understanding of the complex U.S. immigration system.
Notwithstanding this, if we in Antigua and Barbuda accept third country nationals (TCNs) being deported from the United States, even if they do not have criminal records, and who may not be deemed “bona fide visitors” pursuant to the laws of Antigua and Barbuda, given the historical arrangement of these TCN agreements in recent months throughout the Americas, we too would face the problem of being unable to deport these third country nationals due to the principle of non-refoulement, regardless of any crime they may later commit in Antigua and Barbuda, if that were to happen. Who would take them then? I can assure you, it would not be another country.
However, our laws stipulate that the liability for repatriation rests with the “owner or agent of the vessel in which the person arrived… to the country to which the person belongs or from which the person embarked for Antigua and Barbuda”. Therefore, the Government of the United States of America would have to accept these persons back should any crime be committed on our soil, if we agree to solidify this TCN arrangement.
And is it the intention of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to reclassify these third country nationals as bona fide visitors upon arrival? And if so, who will “be responsible for the maintenance and accommodation of that bona fide visitor during the period of the stay of the bona fide visitor in Antigua and Barbuda”? This would effectively place the Government of Antigua and Barbuda as the sponsor of the prospective bona fide visitor, particularly as this TCN arrangement is being conducted between the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Government of the United States. If reclassification is not being pursued, then what exactly would be their legal status in Antigua and Barbuda?
Pursuant to Section 14(viii) of The Immigration and Passport Act, 2014, which stipulates who has the right of entry into Antigua and Barbuda, it states: “any other persons or class of persons to whom this section may be applied by Order made by the Minister”. As “third country nationals” are not explicitly listed within our laws, will such an Order be issued by the Minister? Does this matter have to proceed before Parliament?
Most immigrants who illegally entered the United States did so without a travel document or passport, many of which may have been destroyed during their journey to the United States. In many cases, it is difficult to obtain birth certificates for illegal immigrants once they are within U.S. territory due to slow bureaucratic processes with foreign consulates and because some births were never formally registered in their home countries, particularly in rural towns and remote communities.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Immigration and Passport Act, 2014 is very clear that persons without a travel document or passport shall not be permitted to enter Antigua and Barbuda. While discretion may be left to the Minister or the Chief Immigration Officer, we should not be overly lenient on this matter, as such discretion should only be reserved for extraordinary circumstances, particularly humanitarian emergencies. I do not find that persons travelling from the United States under a TCN arrangement are facing any emergency because, as far as the United States is concerned, it is a safe and free country, the land of many opportunities, where our people are starving to gain entry, is it not?
My other concern stems from public health. Will Antigua and Barbuda be as firm in its requirements as the United States is in requiring immigrants to be vaccinated for influenza; Hepatitis A and B, which require administration 3–6 months before departure; rotavirus; polio; measles, mumps, and rubella; tetanus; diphtheria; pertussis, including boosters; meningococcal and pneumococcal diseases; and varicella? Will they also be tested for tuberculosis and HIV/STDs and undergo other wellness checks, including mental health evaluations?
With respect to vaccines, laboratory evidence of immunity is acceptable for measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, polio, and varicella if the migrant lacks acceptable documented history of vaccination for these diseases. If we do end up accepting third country nationals, will they be “examined by a medical practitioner” as our Immigration Act stipulates, to review these medical records and ascertain whether they are up to date? I strongly recommend that this be done.
According to ICE/DHS 2024/2025 data, the top nationalities ordered deported from the United States are individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. Mexico dominates due to its proximity to the United States. Then there are individuals from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, China, Jamaica, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and others.
Many persons from these countries have already crossed our shores before, whether for adventure, business, or opportunity. Some already reside in Antigua and Barbuda as law-abiding and productive residents (and sometimes now citizens) who consider our sweet 268 their home. Antigua and Barbuda is a small twin-island nation with a population of fewer than 100,000 people spread across 171 square miles. We welcome guests all the time, all year round.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed are my own.*
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So proud of your excellent dissertation on this egregious subject. May Gad give our leaders grace to ingest what you have exposed.
The biggest problem USA have, is organized crime (MAFIAS). Members of those group are foreigners, and lot of them are ilegals. Chineses and other south Asia countries, Rusians, Eastern European Countries, Middle East Countries, Latin Countries, Africans, bassically from all over they created and are running gangs and Mafias in USA…Is hard to develop a case against them, because is hard to penetrate those group. FBI and other USA agencies know them, but is a pain to prosecute them for that. But then, years ago they found a easy way to get rid of them. (Is not Trump who created ICE and the man who started deporting illegals imigrants, Obama was the worst by the way). You can’t send to jail a person if you don’t have prove that is a criminal, but being ilegall is the crime by law, and is pretty easy to prove..I can’t prove you are a drug dealer or a murderer, but they can prove you overstay your visa and kick you out of the country. At least they save time and get rid of the criminals, no time wasting in courts of law.There is a lot of record of foreigner abusing all social programs that USA have on place for USA citizens. Foreigners study more the loopholes in those programs that any american citizens. That is why you see more imigrants with food stamps than American Citizens.
How you will feel if you see an ilegal Guyanese, Jamaican, Spanish person using an oficial Antigua Goverment CMC card? Antiguans citizens will accept that? You will accept that ilegals foreigners receive free healtcare over here? You will accept illegal immigrans receive free housing by the goverment?
You want good imigrants also, I don’t see nobody here in Antigua advocating to receive refugees from Haiti, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Nigeria, Yemen, Afganistan, etc..Yes, Antiguans don’t want immigrants from shit countries neither. Is common sense, but you will accept without doub any citizen from Africa with a tertiary education.
We don’t have a full information why USA is forcing Antigua to receive refugees, something in being happening in the background and we are speculating in debates without knowing all facts involved. I got your point and I like it, but is our goverment being honest with us? We are taking a heat in dedates and most of the time people confuse debate with a war zone and they take a far side and move those feeling along with their life, and the end of the day is the top people running goverments, the ones doing the crap.
Robert Green says: Stupid people are worse than evil people.
International organizations like the UN caters to stupid people. They serve to collect fees and hand out money or other resources and nothing else.
As evil as they are: The US cannot be stopped. Others in this category such as Israel and Russia ignores them. There should be no disagreement that they are the evils ones.
The stupid ones squander and look to international organizations for support.
Political history advices us if we pay attention to history rather rather whst international organizations do or say.
Ronald Reagan the darling of the Republican rightwing gave immigrants amnesty. Interesting many of the Latinos who recieved anbesiubder Reagan are now big supposed Donald Trump and the rightwing establishment in the US
Among the many reasons why Obama got elected was his promise that he will deport in record numbers. And that he did.
Inspite of that fact; those who formed The Tea Party did so they claimed to fight against an increasing deficit, when they were against a Blackman in the White House
The Tea Party got elected to The US Congress and the US Senate and they become the Freedom Caucus in both houses.
The Freedom Caucus members are lock step behind Donald Trump with record budget deficits. That’s political history.
The Heritage Foundation formed in 1973 was for the purpose of limited government individual freedom and strong national Defense.
That has been political science at work for over 50 years.
The Federal Courts are stacked with their candidates. Unfortunately with that make up Trump will get just about everything he wants.
The UN, the international media can’t do much about what in happening in the various Sudans starving each other to get control of their minerals.
CARICOM like other Caribbean institutions are a failure. We talk about global warming and riding seas going to the UN with hat in hand when we ourselves celebrate fossil fuels expansion as economic development.
Barbuda with its 1,400 people; 200 other Caribbean people living and working while aspiring for permanent residency and various levels of touristy activities; Barbuda should be functioning only on renewable energy only.
Donald Trump and Steven Miller at el and the people around them know we are dysfunctional while they the Think Tank has been at work to bring us to where we are today.
We are planning a Law School at UWI Five Islands
While we are importing Ghanian nurses.
An alien arriving from outer space would think there are a shortage of attorneys in Antigua and Barbuda and an over supply of nurses for tge Government to make such a decision.
Time to look at how we undermine ourselves on the world stage because of our egos.
The short answer to this is to say no to America and mean no with no further discussion
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