The home affairs minister for immigration has defended proposed legislation amid concerns over executive power, insisting that constitutional safeguards and established legal principles prevent any abuse of discretion while preserving the state’s authority over national security and citizenship decisions.

Appearing before Parliament’s joint select committee of Parliament during its scrutiny of the Immigration Bill and Citizenship Bill, Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls dismissed criticisms that the draft legislation gives the executive too much unilateral power, explaining that modern legislative drafting relies on long-established legal conventions.

The minister addressed the Barbados Employers Confederation’s primary concern regarding the finality of ministerial decisions on the grant, refusal, or deprivation of Barbadian citizenship under section 13 of the legislation. He clarified that such powers are not new, nor are they subject to individual caprice.