Gov’t says Marks was involved in bid ‘to attract skilled workers to Jamaica’, not deportee proposal

Government is insisting that the United States initiated a controversial deportee deal, arguing that an American diplomatic note mischaracterised a separate effort involving Cabinet Minister Audrey Marks to “attract skilled workers to Jamaica”.

"It is a US initiative. So, the US would have come to us on that Third Country Nationals programme," Morris Dixon told JIS, the government news agency in an interview on Thursday. 

Her comments come amid questions over a diplomatic note from the United States Embassy in Kingston, obtained by The Gleaner, which stated that Marks made the proposal “for a Third-Country National arrangement that would have Jamaica receive up to 10,000 third-country nationals from the United States”. 

The note said Marks made the proposal to a US official attached to the US Department of Homeland Security during the Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command in Miami, Florida on March 5, 2026.

Morris Dixon acknowledged the the existence of the diplomatic cable but said “clarification” was provided shortly after it was sent, indicating that the reference to Marks was linked to separate discussions and not the memorandum of understanding eventually signed between Jamaica and the United States, the JIS article said. 

"It's really for that reason that when you're doing bilateral negotiations, they tend not to really be public, because you have several different iterations of the conversation," the minister said. The JIS article did not include details on when the 'clarification' was provided. 

In a response to The Gleaner late Wednesday, Marks did not comment directly on the contents of the diplomatic communication, saying only that she supported the memorandum of understanding (MoU) as part of a Cabinet-approved process.

“It is actually not protocol to comment on the matters that fall in the portfolio of other ministers. The only comment that I could make is that I supported the MoU as part of the Cabinet-approved process and decision."

The Gleaner had asked Marks what role, if any, she played in initiating or advancing discussions with US counterparts on the arrangement; whether any such role was on her own initiative or under instruction from Cabinet or the line minister; and, if she did play a role, when those discussions took place.

Marks, who demitted office as US ambassador in March 2025, has responsibility for efficiency, innovation, and digital transformation.

Morris Dixon’s remarks follow statements made on Wednesday by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, who told both Parliament and a post-Cabinet press briefing that the TCN arrangement originated from a request by Washington.

"The issue of the TCN was a request from the United States government," Chang told lawmakers on Wednesday. 

Pressed further on whether the US communicated with Jamaica that the arrangement could see up to 10,000 deportees accommodated over the life of the deal, Chang said: "We have had no such communication."

"No, there's no such discussion between the governments," he added. 

"If somebody talks to them (US) on the street, I don't know about that," the minister said. 

Morris Dixon, who was leading the news conference, said there "there's no such cabinet decision on record."

According to Chang, the agreement signed last week allows for the transit of up to 25 non-Jamaican deportees every two weeks, with Jamaica retaining the right to refuse arrivals and terminate the arrangement.

The minister has also said the individuals will not have criminal convictions and will be “free to move around” while awaiting onward travel and that any person seeking to remain in Jamaica would have to apply through the courts for asylum status. They are also to be English speakers. 

Chang said the arrangement has no fixed end date but will not be implemented until operational guidelines are worked out. 

He said the Government has no intention of tabling the MOU itself in Parliament, though the operational procedures will eventually be made public.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has raised a legal concern that a US federal court ruled in February that third-country national arrangements are unlawful under American law, a ruling the Trump administration is currently appealing. 

"Should this not at least await legal clarity in the United States as to whether such an arrangement is proper under their law?" Golding asked of Third-Country National deals, which have emerged as a controversial pillar of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. 

Following a Gleaner revelation on Tuesday, Chang confirmed that Jamaica has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that facilitates the transit of individuals transferred from the US through Jamaica en route to their final destinations.

News of the deal has triggered public firestorm, with questions raised about the appropriateness of Jamaica accepting people the United States does not want within its borders. It has also revived scrutiny of Jamaica's deportation of Haitians fleeing violence, and the termination of the Cuban medical cooperation programme amid US pressure on regional governments.

Rights advocates are also raising concerns about Jamaica's obligations under international refugee and human rights conventions.

Chang has said that there is a strict cap of 10 TCNs remaining on the island at any 30-day period and that the total cohort will not exceed 25 persons at a time.

He has dismissed concerns about whether Jamaica was gaining any special benefit by entering into the TCN deal. Pointing to the US as Jamaica's closest ally, he said the arrangement is not a situation “where we ask for one thing and offer another.”

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