Guyana’s opposition is calling on the government to make public its agreement with the United States allowing the South American nation to receive people deported from the U.S., arguing that Parliament and the wider public should be able to examine the terms of the arrangement.
The demand comes days after Guyana received its first six deportees under the agreement. The group, comprising nationals of Cuba and Afghanistan, arrived in the country on September 4 after being vetted by Guyanese authorities and determined to have no criminal records. Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud said the arrangement was reached after months of negotiations with Washington.
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According to the government, the arrangement will remain in effect for one year and does not amount to permanent resettlement. The deportees are being accommodated under an Assisted Voluntary Return Programme administered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), while their immigration status is determined. They could eventually return to their countries of origin or be relocated elsewhere.
Opposition lawmakers, however, are pressing the administration of President Irfaan Ali for greater clarity about the agreement, including the obligations undertaken by Guyana, the safeguards in place for the deportees and any conditions attached to the country’s decision to participate.
The calls for disclosure come amid wider international scrutiny of the United States’ policy of sending some migrants to countries other than their countries of citizenship. Critics of third-country deportation arrangements have raised concerns about transparency, legal protections and the treatment of people who may face danger if ultimately returned to their countries of origin.
Guyana’s government has maintained that the six individuals were carefully vetted before being accepted and that the country will not be responsible for their housing or support costs. Persaud also said the United States had not made any additional requests beyond the current arrangement.
The opposition’s push for publication therefore places the government’s handling of the agreement under renewed scrutiny, particularly as Guyana seeks to balance its growing relationship with Washington against questions of national sovereignty, immigration policy and public accountability.
The controversy also places Guyana alongside several other Caribbean Community countries that have agreed to receive small numbers of U.S. deportees under third-country arrangements. For Guyana, the immediate question is whether the full terms of its agreement with Washington will be made available to Parliament and the public as the country begins implementing the one-year programme.
