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.
As you may recall, President Trump labelled Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “shithole countries” in 2018 and further reiterated this position in 2025 when he stated that he welcomed a “permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, [and] Somalia”. President Trump further stated: “Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right? Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden – just a few – let us have a few. From Denmark – do you mind sending us a few people? Send us some nice people, do you mind?”
I hope you recognize the racial undertones of the current U.S. President. He is very clear about his position. He does not have a problem with immigrants. He loves them. His mother was one. He married one. Not once, but twice. His problem has to do with race and ethnicity. Once you understand that, you will then understand why he has no issue using terms such as “export” or “import” humans, as though it were chattel slavery. 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.
Our issue should not be with immigrants. Our issue should be with the United States’ approach to this situation: misusing vulnerable persons who travelled to the well-resourced United States seeking better living conditions and opportunities scarce within their home countries, and using them as pawns at the negotiating table with other governments. It is completely distasteful. And we should recall our history and understand that there should never have been a negotiating table for this subject matter in the first place, especially not to entertain the racialized approach that the United States has taken on this matter.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed are my own.*