Greater scrutiny against illegal immigration

While Guyana and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday to enhance cooperation in various areas of national interest, including security, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has highlighted that immigration—particularly illegal migration—is a mutual concern for both countries.
Responding to a question from the local media during his visit to State House on Thursday, Rubio explained that with Guyana’s booming economy and large-scale developments, the country will need to expand its workforce, which could pose potential security risks.
“We want to work with you on that. I think that’s a problem for you as well. Obviously, with your growing economy, increasing labour demands, and geographical position, many people are coming to your country, and I think you want to ensure they are the right people, right? So, if we have information that someone has entered your country with bad intentions, we want to share that with your government because you don’t want that,” Rubio stated.
Emphasising that Guyana is not a source of US migrants but rather a destination for migrants, the US Secretary of State added: “Unfortunately, you’re receiving a lot of people. Most are probably here to work hard and contribute, but not everyone. So, if we have information that someone in your country is known to be dangerous, we want to share it with you—and we want to do so very quickly.”
He further explained that opening the country to migrants also brings the risk of allowing criminals in, a problem both nations seek to prevent.
“If we have information on a Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela, we need to ensure there is collaboration so we can share that intelligence. If a narcotrafficker is setting up operations here, potentially turning this into a base that could lead to violence and gang warfare, we want to share that information with you. We want to prevent these problems before they arise,” Rubio stated