Jamaica finalises third-country nationals operating procedures with US

Jamaica has moved one step closer to receiving third-country nationals (TCNs) from the United States, as Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith on Wednesday indicated that both governments have now finalised operating procedures related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed earlier this year.

Johnson Smith, speaking at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said this sets out guardrails and parameters under the agreement.

“The arrangements were also finalised taking into account Jamaica's capacity constraints and our belief in the principles of safe, orderly and lawful migration,” she said.

She noted that the Government, through the Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has formally engaged with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations body responsible for migration matters, to support the third-country nationals while they are in Jamaica and to facilitate their return to their home countries.

She said no start date for receiving TCNs has been determined, noting that the IOM is undertaking its own work.

“It has its own independent process that it undertakes, having engaged with PICA (Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency), MNS (Ministry of National Security) and other relevant departments and agencies to make sure everyone is aligned,” Johnson Smith explained.

“As previously publicly noted, the arrangement will not be funded by the Government of Jamaica, and no third-country national with criminal antecedents will be transiting through Jamaica.”

Asked if the deal signed with the US will be made public, Johnson Smith indicated that this could not be done given that it is a bilateral arrangement and that these documents are not generally disclosed.

“As indicated, this is not a unilateral arrangement; it is a bilateral arrangement, and one in which they [the United States] have not generally released their agreements, and they have not agreed to release this one. So I just want to give you the assurance, though, that ministers who had indicated that they would be willing to, made those indications in full good faith and as a response to public interest,” the foreign minister said.

“I give you every assurance as well that we have all shared all the relevant and material matters, provisions, in relation to the matter. So, there's nothing being hidden per se, but as you would note, even under the ATI (Access to Information), bilateral agreements, security agreements, arrangements that are sensitive to relations between countries and otherwise, are treated differently from other agreements.”

Johnson Smith said Jamaica is committed to working with the IOM and the US Government to ensure that all arrangements for the next stage of TCN implementation are appropriately governed and implemented in accordance with both Jamaican domestic laws and international law.

“And I just want to reiterate that third-country nationals, TCNs, are not deportees. They are not nationals of Jamaica, but are nationals of other countries who entered the US illegally and are being returned to their home countries through the IOM's Assisted Voluntary Return programme. The IOM is funded by the United States Government for this purpose. This is a transit arrangement and one through which no criminals are to be sent,” she said.

Johnson Smith further stressed that, “We have understood, or we understand, that there are countries which have agreed to receive people who have committed crimes, but Jamaica is not one of those countries. We have also not agreed to receive 10,000 individuals. We have negotiated guardrails to address capacity constraints, therefore a maximum of 25 individuals per two-week period, which the IOM will, of course, be on a continuous basis making arrangements for their return.

“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.”

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