Jamaicans account for about 15 per cent of the prison population in Antigua and Barbuda, according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who says his government is tightening immigration enforcement against people living or working in the country without legal status.

Browne made the disclosure on Sunday during his weekly radio programme, The Browne and Browne Show, as he addressed concerns about the growing number of non-national inmates and people overstaying their permitted time in Antigua and Barbuda.

“One of the things that we observed within the prison now is that the non-national population is growing. In fact, about 15 per cent of the prison population now comprises Jamaicans in particular,” Browne said.