Antigua Will Not Accept Criminal Deportees, PM Says

Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday that Antigua and Barbuda has drawn firm limits in its dealings with the United States, rejecting claims by political opponents that the government agreed to accept criminal deportees.

Speaking on his Browne and Browne radio programme, Browne said opposition figures were spreading false information about a memorandum of understanding with the United States.

“I find that our political opponents, you know, they’re trying to suggest that we have agreed to take criminal deportees. There’s no such thing,” Browne said .

Browne said the government instructed Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United States to make the country’s position clear after concerns arose that deportees could include criminals.

“I then instructed Sir Ron to write to the State Department to indicate that we will cooperate. However, Antigua and Barbuda cannot accommodate criminal refugees,” he said.

“If the United States can’t handle them, how are we going to handle them? They will destabilize our country,” Browne added .

The prime minister said the government entered into a memorandum of understanding that limits what Antigua and Barbuda would be expected to do, while also restricting public disclosure of the document.

“We have an MOU with the U.S. and we understand that, look, when it comes to refugees,” Browne said, adding that the agreement itself cannot be published.

“The agreement that we have with the United States is that we ought not to publish the agreement, so we will certainly keep to that commitment,” he said.

Browne said he nonetheless felt obligated to explain the government’s position to the public.

“I am duty bound to at least tell our people what is in that agreement,” he said.

He said a letter sent to U.S. officials in August 2025 also raised broader regional concerns.

“A wider plea for the Caribbean, indicating to them that already many Caribbean countries are struggling with crime and violence,” Browne said, warning that accepting criminal deportees would “clearly… destabilize our countries” .

Browne said the government would continue diplomatic engagement but rejected what he described as attempts to mislead the public about the country’s commitments.

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