In Antigua and Barbuda, the Ministry of Public Safety and Labour is responsible for:
- * The Prevention, detection and prosecution of Crime.
- * The Maintenance of law and order.
- * Enforcement of laws.
- * The maintenance of industrial peace.
- * The enforcing of the law relative to the health, safety and welfare of employees.
- * Labour dispute management and mediation.
The Development of the Immigration Department
The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda previously controlled the functions and management of the Immigration Department, and this functional area of the Royal Police Force was detached in November 1998. An amendment to the Immigration and Passport Act, CAP 208 in 1999 officially severed the Immigration Function from the Police. The amendment created a civilian Immigration Department, which had an initial focus on the transition from policing to a more Tourism friendly product. Another reason for the change was that the political directorate believed that border policing and public policing ought to be separate and apart; border security is about protecting and monitoring rather than coercion and policing.
The separation created the formation of the Immigration Department as one of the principal security units under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in 2009, the Department was placed under the Ministry of National Security and Labour. The Ministry of Legal Affairs, Public Safety, Immigration and Labour was formed after the general elections of 2014, and the Immigration Department became one of the security departments under this ministry. Presently, the Immigration Department is under the original Ministry, which is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration.