Antigua and Barbuda is ramping up enforcement actions against undocumented migrants living and working within its borders, and Prime Minister Gaston Browne has shared new data that highlights a striking demographic pattern in the country’s correctional system. During a public discussion addressing rising concerns over overstayed visas and criminal activity linked to non-citizens, Browne made an unexpected disclosure about the share of Jamaican nationals in the nation’s prison population.
The prime minister noted that in recent years, the proportion of people from other countries held in Antigua and Barbuda’s prisons has steadily climbed. Among this growing non-national inmate population, Jamaican citizens alone account for approximately 15 percent of the country’s total prison population, according to Browne’s remarks.
Despite the push to crack down on undocumented residents, the prime minister emphasized that the current administration has no plans to reclassify visa overstays as a criminal offense. Instead, the government’s approach focuses on targeted enforcement against individuals who reside in the country without valid legal status or engage in unauthorized employment. To give affected migrants a path to compliance, officials have rolled out a 60-day window for undocumented people to update and regularize their immigration status, alongside an active general amnesty program that eligible people can utilize.
Browne added that clear instructions have been issued to both law enforcement and national immigration agencies: teams will prioritize identifying and removing undocumented migrants who have engaged in criminal activity during their unauthorized stay in Antigua and Barbuda, prioritizing public safety while streamlining immigration compliance efforts.