President Irfaan Ali yesterday defended Guyana’s arrangement with the United States to receive persons ordered removed from that country saying Georgetown retains complete discretion over whom it accepts, but he gave no commitment to publish the agreement.
Six persons—four Cubans and two Afghans—arrived in Guyana on September 4 under the one-year framework. The government has said they are skilled, have no known criminal records and entered voluntarily, with costs being met by the United States and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Ali repeatedly termed the instrument an “understanding”. When a reporter referred to it as a deal, he interjected: “Deal? Oh, not deal. Come on.”
He said only third-country nationals with expedited or final removal orders and medical authorisation to travel would be eligible. The arrangement excludes unaccompanied children under 18, Chinese nationals, persons with pending asylum claims and, to the extent known, persons with violent criminal records.
The United States must provide criminal-history and medical information, after which Guyana will conduct its own health, security and other assessments within a specified period. Only persons formally approved by the Guyana government may be transferred, and the country may refuse entry to anyone not previously cleared, Ali said.
“People just can’t arrive on a plane, as is being portrayed on social media,” he said, adding that the final flight manifest must be supplied before a transfer and the persons accompanied by United States Homeland Security officials.
Ali said acceptance is conditional on United States financial and technical support for resettlement and integration. The IOM is to arrange temporary accommodation and basic needs, consult the persons and facilitate voluntary return where appropriate.
The President said Guyana had dealt with only one request to date. He did not state whether the six arrivals constituted that single request, nor did he disclose how long they are expected to remain, the cost per person, their present immigration status or the public authority responsible for long-term supervision.
Civil society groups and opposition parties have called for the agreement to be released, citing questions about its legal basis, parliamentary oversight, public safety and Guyana’s capacity to integrate persons removed by another state. The government has issued statements describing the framework but has not made the signed text public.
Ali insisted that “nothing is hidden” and that the relevant information was in the public domain. However, when specifically asked about publication and the identities and circumstances of the transferees, he repeated the operating conditions without undertaking to release the instrument.
Meantime, the President also disclosed that members of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Foreign Relations had been invited to meet with him later in the week to be updated on critical national and foreign-policy matters.
He said the third-country transfer arrangement would be among the matters discussed and that committee members would be able to raise questions about it.
“I think, as President, I have a responsibility to update every stakeholder,” Ali said, adding that the discussions would also encompass Guyana’s case before the International Court of Justice and other foreign-relations and foreign-policy issues.
Ali said as well that he would separately meet with the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Economic Services to discuss the Mid-Year Report, the performance of the economy, the cost of living, inflation and the global energy and transportation crises.
“So it’s going to be a broad agenda,” he said, adding that the discussions would not be confined to a rigidly structured list of subjects.
He has not indicated an intention to meet with the Opposition Leader on these same matters.
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