By Vanessa James
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – Jamaica has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States that will provide for Third Country Nationals (TCNs) transferred from the US to transit through Jamaica to their final destination. Deputy prime minister and minister of national security and peace, Dr Horace Chang, said that the agreement has received Cabinet approval and was signed June 10.
The national security minister explained that while negotiations are ongoing on the operational guidelines, some aspects have been settled, including the requirement that the US will pay for the TCN’s initial stay in Jamaica. The decision to enter the agreement was reached following extensive negotiations between the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade, and national security and peace, the office of the prime minister and lawyers from the attorney general’s office.
Addressing Wednesday’s post-Cabinet Press Briefing at Jamaica House, Dr Chang said that individuals facilitated under the agreement are not being brought into Jamaica as permanent migrants. The agreed quota is for 25 individuals to be facilitated every two weeks for transit through Jamaica to a third territory, including their home countries.
“At no time will the number exceed 25, because we have the right to refuse anyone at any time and both parties can terminate the entire agreement without any long-term notice,” Dr Chang explained. In other countries where TCN agreements have already been established, there is an approximate 94 percent return rate.
Dr Chang said that persons who choose to stay in Jamaica will have to apply to the courts for asylum. “If they get asylum status, we retain them, if they don’t, we send them home.” The government is working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to secure appropriate accommodations for the individuals accepted under the agreement.
Dr Chang maintained that TCN arrivals will not begin until these and other operational details are finalised.
In a media release issued June 16, the ministry indicated that these operational guidelines will establish the safeguards for implementation, including screening, verification, oversight mechanisms and suspension provisions. He emphasised that Jamaica retains the authority to reject any individual proposed for transfer, adding that prior health screening, identity verification, criminal record checks and clearance from the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), will be required before any individual is considered for acceptance.
“Individuals with criminal antecedents will not be accepted under this arrangement, as Jamaica’s security considerations remain paramount,” the security minister said. The agreement will remain in place as long as there is a need or until other criteria for discontinuation under the MOU are met.
Currently, similar TCN agreements have been made between the US and Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, Antigua, St Kitts, and Barbados.