Local Stakeholders to Be Consulted on Structured Migration Programme

Consultations will be held with local stakeholders on the proposed structured migration programme with the United States (US) before it is implemented. 

Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for Efficiency, Innovation and Digital Transformation, Ambassador the Hon. Audrey Marks, who has been tasked with advancing the initiative, said that discussions will be held with trade unions, the private sector, civil organisations and members of the opposition.  

She was speaking in a Ministerial Update with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Giovanni Dennis, at Jamaica House on Friday (July 3). 

Ambassador Marks said that the structured migration programme will target the gradual immigration of approximately 10,000 skilled workers starting with a 1,000-person pilot.  

She informed that the comprehensive programme, conceived during her tenure as Jamaica’s Ambassador to the US, is designed to proactively respond to impending, drastic shifts in US immigration and migration policies while addressing Jamaica’s pressing domestic labour shortage and population decline.  

Minister Marks pointed to research indicating that undocumented workers comprise up to 20 per cent of the US agricultural workforce, which would result in the country facing severe labour shortages once the American First agenda took effect.  

“And so, my thinking was how do we get ahead of this situation and propose to the US that we can help because we have an established legal system of bringing workers into the country,” she stated.  

The programme, which takes a broad look at how both countries could benefit from America’s migration changes, proposed an expansion of the cap on Jamaica’s seasonal workers to approximately 200,000.  

Furthermore, Ambassador Marks noted that the programme for structured migration would mitigate Jamaica’s labour shortages, which have been exacerbated by brain drain and a declining birth rate. 

“When you look at the figures, it will break out that 8.5 million of the undocumented migrants in the United States are highly skilled and we know that in Jamaica, we are having a situation where we have lost over 1.3 million Jamaicans who have migrated, many highly skilled,” she said.  

“And, my thinking at the time [was] how can we utilise the situation to attract more skilled workers into Jamaica because we are hearing the complaints across all industries that we are short of skilled labour in some areas,” she added.  

Minister Marks informed that the programme would attract highly skilled workers currently facing residency challenges in the United States,  while improving the economy, and encouraging diaspora members to return home. 

Beyond labour shortages, the comprehensive proposal seeks to position Jamaica as an alternative for global technology companies and multinational corporations.  

“It also looked at how we could set up Jamaica as a location for large companies like Google, Amazon, to get their H1 visa workers settled in Jamaica because that programme is also going to be cut in the US,” Ambassador Marks said. 

Additionally, the framework outlines strategies to transform Jamaica into a premier regional near-shore logistics hub and enhances bilateral security cooperation to fight cross-border drug and arms trafficking.  

Ambassador Marks emphasised that the initiative will require funding support from the US, and a meticulous domestic framework to ensure local workers are not displaced.  

While noting that Jamaica currently has 50,000 people who are unemployed and an additional 50,000 who are underemployed, she said that the programme will not displace or take away jobs from citizens. 

“This is where we are doing our balancing. We are upskilling, we are lifting, we are expanding the economy. More Jamaicans will be employed. We are looking at opportunities abroad to get Jamaicans more exposed and more skilled,” she stated.