Mahipaul blasts Guyana-US deportee deal

(Kaieteur News) – APNU Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul has raised strong concerns regarding the Government’s newly announced migration cooperation agreement with the United States, warning that Guyanese citizens must not be made a secondary priority in their own country.

The bilateral framework permits Guyana to receive a limited, vetted number of skilled, non-criminal third-country nationals removed from the U.S. under the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Assisted Voluntary Return Programme. While the administration framed the deal as an extension of Guyana’s international human rights commitments, Mahipaul argued that the nation’s fragile public infrastructure is ill-prepared to handle additional obligations.

In a public statement, Mahipaul emphasized that while Guyanese are historically known for their hospitality and willingness to assist those in need, serious questions remain regarding the state’s institutional capacity. “My concern is not with helping people, nor am I opposed to Guyana being a hospitable nation,” Mahipaul stated. “My concern is whether our country has the institutional capacity to properly manage and monitor this programme and live up to the responsibilities it is accepting.”