MIGRATION · JAMAICA
Key Facts
- —The country Jamaica is a Caribbean nation of about 2.8 million people and a close US partner on security and migration.
- —Why it matters Jamaica is now a transit point for migrants the United States removes to countries other than their own.
- —Why now The first flight under a migration agreement signed with Washington in June landed in Kingston on Tuesday 13 October.
- —What happened 22 third-country nationals, 15 men and seven women, arrived; Jamaica rejected one more person and two were withdrawn.
- —The numbers A cap of 25 arrivals every two weeks, a pause if 10 people seek asylum, and a 14-day target for return home.
- —What it means for you US removal policy now runs through a close Caribbean partner, with the UN migration agency handling care and onward travel.
- —Still open The text of the agreement, where the group is staying, and how many of the 22 will seek asylum.
Jamaica took in 22 third-country nationals removed by the United States on Tuesday 13 October, the first group under a deal signed in June. The flight landed at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, and a political analyst has since urged the government to weigh its legal exposure.
For Americans, the arrivals show Washington’s policy of removing migrants through third countries now reaching a close Caribbean partner. Jamaica’s government says it will not pay for the programme, which runs through the United Nations migration agency.
How the First Third-Country Nationals Arrived
National Security and Peace Minister Horace Chang confirmed the arrivals on Tuesday on Radio Jamaica’s Beyond the Headlines programme. He said the group of 15 men and seven women posed no public health or security risk.
Chang said Jamaica rejected one more person on the US list, while two others were withdrawn. The Gleaner reported that the group received a 90-day landing and left by state bus, under police escort, for an undisclosed location.
In a joint update, the foreign and national security ministries said the group covered seven nationalities, most from Latin America, according to the Jamaica Observer. They said no citizen of the Caribbean Community, or Caricom, was among them and that none had a criminal record.
Chang said only five of the 22 speak English, and that all were medically screened and checked through Interpol. The International Organization for Migration, or IOM, the UN migration agency, now has full responsibility for them and aims to send them home within 14 days.
The Legal Liability Warning
Damion Gordon, a lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s government to be more open. “I would urge the Jamaican Government to provide greater transparency about the agreement,” he told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
He said Jamaica should examine its responsibilities so that it is not exposed to “any present or future legal liabilities”. Gordon also asked what would happen if individuals cannot leave Jamaica within the agreed time.
Gordon linked his concern to the US policy behind the flights, which he said has faced serious legal challenges over due process and human rights. He wants assurances that the agreed limits on arrivals and the exclusion of people with criminal records will be strictly observed.
The People’s National Party, or PNP, the main opposition, wants the full agreement tabled in Parliament. Its national security spokesman, Fitz Jackson, asked where the group would stay and who would monitor it, while the party asked what legal liability Jamaica takes on, Radio Jamaica reported.
Jamaicans for Justice, a human rights group, has also raised concerns about the arrangement and the secrecy around it. The government says it cannot release the text because the United States has not agreed to make it public.
What the Government Says
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said on Tuesday that nothing in the agreement is prejudicial to Jamaica’s interests, Radio Jamaica reported. She said Jamaica negotiated a pause if 10 people apply for refugee status or other humanitarian protection.
The government has set a maximum of 25 people every two weeks and says the programme will not be funded by Jamaica. In September, Johnson Smith told a post-Cabinet briefing that the US funds the IOM for this work and that Jamaica joins close to 30 countries with similar arrangements.
She has also insisted that the arrivals are not deportees but nationals of other countries returning home through the IOM’s assisted voluntary return programme. She added that Jamaica, unlike some countries, has not agreed to receive people convicted of crimes.
Chang told Wednesday’s post-Cabinet briefing that the people accepted are not criminals but “families looking for a better life”. He said the IOM will handle any asylum claims, and that the group has visitor status and is free to move about.
Chang said a second group is expected in about two weeks, according to The Gleaner. Proposed operating procedures seen by the paper give Jamaica a list of names 72 hours before each removal and 36 hours to reply.
What It Means for US Readers
The proposed procedures say the United States expects to pay the international agency that serves the migrants, The Gleaner reported. That puts the cost on the US side, while the government says Jamaica will only land the group and transport it to the IOM.
For the Jamaican community in the United States, the deal concerns only nationals of other countries, not Jamaican citizens. Gordon’s warning ties Jamaica’s exposure to US court fights, where the Supreme Court has let third-country removals continue under a temporary emergency stay.
The Gleaner noted that the full legal case is still being argued on its merits. A ruling against the policy could raise new questions for partners such as Jamaica that have already received flights.
Background on the country is in Jamaica Explained: The Country, Its Economy, Its Politics and What to Watch and Jamaica and Its Neighbours in the Caribbean. A similar US deal in Africa is covered in Burundi Agrees to Accept US Third-Country Deportees, and life in the capital in our Kingston city guide.
What Is Not Known
The agreement and its final operating procedures have not been published, and the IOM has not commented publicly. Where the 22 people are staying has also not been disclosed.
Accounts of the group’s origins differ, with the ministries citing seven nationalities and Chang naming Ecuador and a European country. Reported landing times also varied, from after 1 p.m. to after 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
It is not known how many of the group have applied for asylum or to work in Jamaica so far. Chang told Radio Jamaica that the IOM stops taking responsibility after 30 days, after which Jamaica could apply its laws to anyone in the country unlawfully.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many third-country nationals arrived in Jamaica?
Twenty-two people, 15 men and seven women, landed in Kingston on Tuesday 13 October. Jamaica rejected one other person on the US list, and two were withdrawn.
Who are the third-country nationals?
They are migrants from other countries who entered the United States illegally, most of them from Latin America. The government says none has a criminal record and none is from a Caricom state.
What legal risks has Jamaica been warned about?
University of the West Indies lecturer Damion Gordon urged the government to check its responsibilities so it faces no present or future legal liabilities. He also asked what happens if people cannot leave Jamaica within the agreed time.
What limits does the agreement set?
The government says no more than 25 people may arrive every two weeks. The programme pauses if 10 people apply to stay through asylum or other humanitarian routes.
Is the agreement public?
No, the government says the United States has not agreed to release the text. The opposition PNP wants the full agreement tabled in Parliament.
Sources: Jamaica Gleaner (arrivals and legal warning) · Jamaica Gleaner (Chang briefing) · Radio Jamaica (arrival) · Radio Jamaica (agreement not public) · Radio Jamaica (PNP) · Radio Jamaica (IOM responsibility) · Jamaica Observer · Jamaica Information Service
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error