New Jersey Lawmakers Asked to Probe Jamaica-US Deportee Transit Pact

Patrick Beckford, a Jamaican-American advocate, has formally appealed to New Jersey's representatives in Washington to investigate the third-country nationals agreement signed by Jamaica and the United States.

In a letter to US senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, along with Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Beckford asked them to press the US Department of State for full details on the memorandum of understanding covering the transfer, accommodation, and screening of migrant groups. He also wants answers on whether US taxpayer money will be used, what categories of people are expected to pass through Jamaica, and the legal authority relied on to make the arrangement.

"Because this agreement appears to involve immigration policy, foreign relations, and potentially the expenditure of US taxpayer resources, I respectfully request that your offices seek clarification from the US Department of State and any other relevant federal agencies regarding the following matters," he said.

Beckford said the lawmakers should seek disclosure on the operational, financial, and legal structure of the arrangement that Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang said was signed three weeks ago. He is also asking federal agencies to specify which people could be transferred under the deal, including whether it would include families, children, asylum seekers, or persons with criminal records.

He further called for clarification on the legal basis for the agreement, how it originated through diplomatic channels, and which US and Jamaican officials were responsible for carrying it out. Beckford also wants any inquiry to state how long the transferred people would remain in Jamaica, what human-rights and medical screening protections would apply, and whether any compensation or taxpayer-funded grants were provided to facilitate the arrangement.

He also raised the question of whether Congress was sidestepped before the agreement was signed, and said there should be reporting systems and periodic public disclosures so the arrangement can be monitored over time.

"As Americans, we recognise that immigration policy is often complex and politically challenging. Nevertheless, democratic societies function best when governments operate transparently and remain accountable to the people they serve. Agreements affecting sovereign nations, taxpayer resources, and vulnerable individuals should be subject to appropriate public scrutiny rather than uncertainty or speculation," he said.

"The Jamaican-American community has long maintained strong cultural, economic, and civic ties to both countries. Many of us simply seek factual information so that public discussion may be guided by evidence rather than rumour.

"Accordingly, I respectfully request that your offices make formal inquiries of the Department of State and any other appropriate federal agencies and, where possible, share the resulting information with your constituents," Beckford wrote in the three-page letter.

The Jamaican Government has said the disputed migration arrangement with the US is a "non-binding, temporary transit arrangement" rather than a permanent resettlement programme. Chang has said the MOU creates a tightly managed processing system with a ceiling of 25 deportees every two weeks.

According to Chang, those individuals would stay in Jamaica for 14 days while awaiting onward travel to their home countries or final destinations. He said they would not be detained, would be able to seek asylum through the court, and would be monitored by the International Organization for Migration.

The minister also said the deal contains a safeguard under which the arrangement would be suspended if the number of transit individuals still on the island rises above 10 at any time within a 30-day period.

At the same time, Chang and Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon have both maintained that the MOU was initiated by the US. That position has come even though a diplomatic note from the US Embassy in Kingston identified former ambassador to the US and Cabinet Minister Audrey Marks as having proposed the arrangement.

Marks, speaking earlier this week, denied that she had proposed Jamaica taking up to 10,000 third-country nationals, saying separate matters had been mixed together. She said discussion about the TCN MOU was being confused with a proposal she made in March 2025, while serving as Jamaica's ambassador to the US, to recruit skilled workers to Jamaica.