Pulls Back – Sharon N. Simon
Pulls Back From Open
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has officially stepped back from entering into an open-ended framework for U.S. third-country national deportations, releasing a definitive White Paper that sets hard limits and strict conditionalities on any future cooperation.
While acknowledging a spirit of diplomatic friendship with Washington, the government’s official policy document stresses that as a small island state with limited land area, public resources, and absorptive capacity, it “cannot responsibly accept open-ended obligations involving persons who are not its nationals and whose removal is sought by another state”.
The policy shift follows intense U.S. pressure. Prime Minister Gaston Browne has previously stated publicly that U.S. visa restrictions on Antiguan and Barbuda nationals have been leveraged to push the country toward signing a third-country removal agreement.
According to the terms outlined in the White Paper, Antigua and Barbuda has explicitly rejected a standing, automatic program. Any rare cooperation will be considered exclusively on a strict, case-by-case basis under the country’s complete sovereign discretion. Furthermore, the government has instituted financial and structural red lines: no individual may depart the United States unless Washington secures 100% of the costs—covering reception, settlement, healthcare, welfare, security, administration, and onward travel—in writing and in advance.
Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International, warned that prior drafts of regional agreements created severe legal vulnerabilities by failing to explicitly exclude individuals with pending asylum claims, withholding of removal, or Convention Against Torture protections. Schacher noted that globally, the U.S. has pursued dozens of similar third-country removal agreements.
Antigua and Barbuda’s official position clarifies that between March 2025 and July 2026, the nation cooperated fully with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to accept the return of all five of its own native nationals identified for deportation. However, the White Paper establishes that it will maintain absolute discretion to reject any third-country national for any reason.
