Jamaica finalises deal with US to take up to 25 third-country nationals every two weeks
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said no one with a criminal background will be accepted and the arrangement will be run with the IOM.
KINGSTON, Jamaica. Jamaica has finalised its third-country nationals agreement with the United States and is awaiting the first arrivals, the government said this week.
Speaking to reporters on September 16, Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said the cabinet was adamant that Jamaica would not accept a single non-national with a criminal background, and that this was clear in the agreement.
She said those expected to arrive were not ordinary deportees but third-country nationals being returned home via countries such as Jamaica, with the arrangements carried out in collaboration with the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM).
25 every two weeks
Under the agreement, Jamaica will accept up to 25 people every two weeks as temporary transits before they return to their home countries.
Jamaica is one of several members of the 15-nation Caribbean Community that have signed agreements with Washington or are awaiting first arrivals. St Lucia, Guyana and Belize have confirmed receiving their first groups, while Grenada and Antigua say they are at advanced stages of negotiations on numbers, funding and other details.
"The arrangements were also finalised taking into account Jamaica's capacity constraints and our belief in the principles of safe, orderly, and lawful migration," the minister said.
Guardrails
Johnson Smith dismissed earlier media reports that Jamaica had been preparing to accept up to 10,000 people, saying those arriving were mostly migrants who had entered the US illegally and were not criminals.
Apparently aware of criticism of the arrangement from the opposition and civil society, she said: "We have negotiated guardrails to address capacity constraints and have, therefore, agreed to a maximum of 25 individuals per two-week period."
"Furthermore, this arrangement will be suspended if 10 TCNs apply to remain in Jamaica through asylum procedures or other humanitarian applications. This, again, specifically negotiated by Jamaica," she said.
The government said it would work with the IOM and the US government to ensure the arrangements are implemented in line with Jamaica's domestic laws and international law.
