Jamaica, US Finalise Procedures for Third-Country Nationals Agreement

The Governments of Jamaica and the United States have finalised the operating procedures related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on third-country nationals (TCNs), signed earlier this year, setting out the safeguards and parameters that will govern the agreement.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, said the procedures were finalised following internal consultations and thoughtful negotiations.

“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 Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade further advise that Jamaica has also 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 added.

The Minister was providing an update during Wednesday’s (September 16) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

“We have negotiated guardrails to address capacity constraints and have, therefore, agreed to 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,” she said.

Senator Johnson Smith advised that the arrangement will not be funded by the Government of Jamaica and reiterated that no third-country national with criminal antecedents will be transiting in Jamaica.

“In participating in the TCN programme, Jamaica will join close to 30 countries, including several members of CARICOM who have similar arrangements. Furthermore, the Government reiterates its commitment to working with the IOM and the Government of the United States of America to ensure that all arrangements for the next stage of TCN implementation are appropriately governed and implemented in accordance with both our domestic laws and international law,” she said.

Minister Johnson Smith further emphasised that the third-country nationals 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. 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,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Minister indicated that no start date has yet been finalised under the agreement.

“[This is] because the IOM is actually completing its own assessment. It has its own independent process that it undertakes, having engaged with [the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency] PICA (the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency), MNSP (the Ministry of National Security and Peace), and other relevant departments and agencies to make sure everyone is aligned.

“Again, reiterating that the IOM is the body that will be responsible for the TCNs when they are here and for getting them back home; but the Government receives them and hands them over to the IOM. So, there is a process which they need to do to make sure that they are, in fact, ready, as the IOM has not had an office based here in Jamaica… they are elsewhere in the region and they staff up for projects like this,” she said.

Minister Johnson Smith indicated that the full details of the bilateral arrangement will not be made public but assured that all relevant and material information relating to the matter has been shared.

“I have, in fact, undertaken consultations, as I promised, with my Cabinet colleagues and with the US Government. As indicated, this is not a unilateral arrangement; it is a bilateral arrangement… and one in which they have not generally released their agreements and they have not agreed to release this one.

“I just want to give you the assurance… that Ministers who had indicated that they would be willing to, made those indications in full, in good faith… as a response to public interest, I give you every assurance that we have all shared all the relevant and material 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 that are sensitive to relations between countries and otherwise, are treated differently from other agreements,” she stated.