Johnson Smith says Jamaica’s interests protected in US third-country national agreement

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith has reiterated that there is nothing prejudicial to Jamaica’s interests in the country’s agreement with the United States to receive third-country nationals.

Johnson Smith said the Government made every effort to negotiate a transit agreement with the protection of Jamaica and the Jamaican people in mind.

She made the remark in a post on X, formerly Twitter, today in response to criticism following the Government’s announcement on Monday that the first batch of third-country nationals is expected to arrive in Jamaica soon.

Johnson Smith said Jamaica negotiated an agreement that was in accordance with the principles of safe and orderly migration and consistent with domestic and international law.

She again stated that the Government is unable to release the migrant agreement because the United States has not agreed to make the document public.

The Foreign Affairs Minister explained that specific parameters were negotiated under the deal.

“As I explained before, some countries have agreed to receive criminals, we have not; some countries have had their agreements made public, but our partner has not agreed for this one to be (it is not that there is anything prejudicial); we also have negotiated for a brake to be applied if 10 TCNs apply for refugee status or otherwise seek to remain under other humanitarian process,” she said.

“Also, the IOM [International Organization for Migration] will be fully responsible for the care, accommodation and return of the TCNs, Jamaica will only land and transport them to the IOM,” she added.

In a statement on Monday, the Government reiterated that the transit arrangement is intended to facilitate the return of third-country nationals to their countries of origin or other receiving countries, with the support of the IOM, which has been formally engaged to provide assistance to the individuals while they are in Jamaica and to facilitate their onward movement.

It said that the arrangement would not be funded by the Government of Jamaica.

It noted that the number of persons anticipated would be a maximum of 25 per fortnight and that the programme would be suspended if 10 nationals applied to remain in Jamaica through asylum applications or other humanitarian processes.

The Government said Jamaica would continue to work closely with the United States and the IOM to ensure that the implementation of the programme is appropriately managed in accordance with the principles of safe and orderly migration and consistent with both domestic and international law.

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