Golding presses government for openness on reported Jamaica-US foreign deportee talks

ST JAMES, Jamaica — Opposition Leader Mark Golding has called on the administration to speak openly about emerging reports that Jamaica and the United States may be negotiating a deal to detain foreign citizens who have committed offences in America on Jamaican soil before they are returned to their countries of birth.

"I don't like the way that this has come to light, through a leak to a media house. Why isn't the government levelling with the people about what is going on?" Golding said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer during the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

"Many people are going to have major misgivings about something which involves non-Jamaicans being brought here," he continued.

According to a report published Tuesday in The Gleaner, officials from both nations could soon open discussions on a Third-Country Nationals (TCN) arrangement that might place as many as 25 non-citizens in Jamaica each two-week period. How long any such programme would run remains unknown.

The Government has not yet issued a public response. The Gleaner's account is said to rest on a leaked document.

Golding said Jamaicans deserve a full accounting from their leaders. "What are the benefits to Jamaica? We don't know. Nothing has been made clear and it's going to be a major issue. I hope the government will come out quickly and explain exactly what they are doing so we can understand what it is and we can then comment on it from the point of view of having some knowledge of what's going on," he told this newspaper.

He noted that several neighbouring territories have already accepted comparable setups with Washington. "I know that other countries in the region have felt compelled to enter into these types of arrangements. We don't know what's happening behind the scenes, what pressures are being brought to bear and so on," the Opposition leader added.

Golding declined to endorse or reject the proposed framework, insisting that he and the wider public require fuller details on the Government's plans before taking a position.