Chang caps US deportee transit at 25, rejecting report of 10,000 arrivals

National Security Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang has dismissed reports that Jamaica is set to receive some 10,000 illegal immigrants deported from the United States, telling Wednesday's post-Cabinet briefing that the Government will accept only 25 third-country nationals at a time under a recently signed transit arrangement with Washington.

Dr Chang said the procedures are still being finalised and it will be some time before the first group arrives. He linked the clarification to leaked information he said was untrue. "Some information was leaked suggesting that we were in the process of negotiating the reception of 10,000 illegal employ. There is no such discussion," he said. The minister explained that transit through Jamaica is meant to address a technical issue in the deportation process, noting that people apprehended at the United States border might otherwise have an opportunity to apply to remain there. Under the arrangement, those involved are not intended to stay in Jamaica; the United States pays their airfare home after routine checks. He said the return rate has been about 94 per cent, though a few have opted to stay, and that if all 25 in a batch chose to remain, the programme would stop immediately.

Separately, a student from Port Antonio High School has been arrested in connection with a recent stabbing, following weekend reports that a teacher from Ascot High School was shot and killed amid alleged gun violence. Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon said violence that students witness in their homes and school communities is harming their learning and development.

Opposition spokesman on national security and South St Catherine MP Fitz Jackson said he was encouraged by a Court of Appeals decision granting him leave to challenge a Supreme Court ruling in his long-running legal battle over cheque encashment fees. Speaking Tuesday, he said the ruling keeps alive a case that could have significant implications for Jamaican banking customers.

At the 11th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference 2026 in Montego Bay, St James, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness pointed to unemployment near 3.5 per cent, down from about 13 per cent a decade ago, and inflation back within the 4 to 6 per cent target band. State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade with responsibility for diaspora affairs, Dr Orlando Terrence Long, said the Government sees overseas Jamaicans as strategic partners in investment, skills transfer and knowledge sharing rather than mainly as sources of remittances. Opposition Leader Mark Golding called for greater diaspora involvement in national development, including appointments to public boards, and urged the Government to prioritise communities still recovering from Hurricane Melissa.

Jamaica's Consul General to the Southeast United States, Oliver Mayor, said the conference has drawn strong participation, with more than 80 companies in the marketplace and overseas Jamaicans connecting on investment and skills exchange. He said that even before Hurricane Melissa, the southern United States region had set up more than 60 drop-off points and channelled more than US$40 million in aid through organisations including Global Empowerment Mission and Food for the Poor, with more than 6,000 volunteers in Miami helping to load containers. He added that a diaspora day of service would see members working on more than 15 community projects, including clinics in Barrett Town and Catherine Hall.