THE United States has confirmed that Guyana is exercising strict control over which third-country nationals are allowed to enter the country, with the Government rejecting the vast majority of names submitted on recent US manifests.
Speaking with reporters, US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, on Wednesday, explained that while Washington provides a list of third-country nationals for possible transfer to Guyana, it is the Government of Guyana that ultimately decides who is accepted.
She disclosed that from the most recent manifest, “only six people came”, despite the list being “quite large”, signalling that local authorities have taken a cautious approach.
According to Theriot, the process is driven by Guyana’s insistence that it will not accept anyone with a criminal record.
“It depends on how many of the people on the manifest are acceptable to the Government of Guyana. We do not send anyone who has not been approved by the Government,” she said, noting that no one is sent unless they have first been cleared by the Guyanese authorities.
She added that the Government relies not only on information supplied by the US, but also on its own intelligence and regional tools. As a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state, Guyana utilises regional databases and vetting mechanisms to independently assess each prospective entrant.
“You will know that only six people came, and the manifest was quite large. So a lot of people were rejected. The Government here has said they will not take anyone with a criminal record, which is absolutely appropriate and within their rights. And they make the determination based on the information that we provide, but also the information that they have. They have databases that they use as part of CARICOM as well, and so they’re able to vet these people with their own intelligence,” Theriot stressed.
She described the process as “a combination of ways” used to ensure that “they are absolutely not letting anyone into Guyana” who poses a risk.
Theriot said the US cannot forecast how many people will arrive in Guyana over the remainder of the year, precisely because the final decision rests with the local authorities.
The US approach, she explained, is to present a manifest and then operationalise whatever the Government of Guyana approves.
“Our plan was to hopefully send one flight a month with those who had been approved,” she said, but cautioned that actual arrivals depend entirely on how many names Guyana accepts from each list.
At the centre of the arrangement is a two-year, US$7.8 million contract with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is responsible for supporting the resettlement or temporary stay of these third-country nationals.
Theriot outlined that the funding covers a comprehensive package of services, including housing, food, healthcare, skills training and communication support.
Individuals brought to Guyana under the arrangement are not locked into a single pathway. Theriot pointed out that people have the choice either to remain in Guyana temporarily while arrangements are made for their return to their country of origin, or to pursue resettlement as a longer-term option, subject to agreement with the host authorities.
“There are two different programmes,” she explained. “One is where they are just waiting here until they are returned to their home country, if they agree to that, or they can choose to resettle, and it’s up to them and the government.”
