Morris Dixon clarifies Jamaica-US third country nationals transit deal

Information Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon has sought to calm public concern over Jamaica’s memorandum of understanding with the United States on third country nationals, saying the government has acted transparently and in the country’s interest.

Speaking in a Jamaica Information Service ministerial update, Dr. Morris Dixon said many Jamaicans were alarmed when reports surfaced citing figures as high as 10,000. She stressed that the programme is a United States initiative already negotiated with several partners, including other Caribbean states, and that Jamaica would serve only as a short-term transit point for people the US is returning to their home countries—not as a long-term settlement or employment scheme.

Under the MOU, Jamaica would accept up to 25 persons at a time, no more than twice per month. Individuals with criminal backgrounds would not be permitted to transit. If more than ten people in transit apply for asylum in Jamaica, the arrangement ends. Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Horace Chang has already outlined much of the agreement in a press release and in Parliament; Dr. Morris Dixon said she was adding detail from the information portfolio on what Cabinet has discussed.

Dr. Morris Dixon addressed conflicting media accounts about who opened talks. She said Washington approached Jamaica on the third country nationals programme, as it has other countries. She said separate bilateral discussions about recruiting skilled workers—including nurses and doctors from the Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria and elsewhere—were at one point conflated with the TCN framework but were later clarified as unrelated. Operational details such as housing remain under negotiation.

On Cuba’s medical brigade, which ended over labour-law compliance issues, she said that programme involved professionals working in Jamaica for extended periods and was fundamentally different from TCN transit. The government still wants Cuban doctors and nurses back and continues to pursue that separately.

The International Organization for Migration will monitor transits and related arrangements. Dr. Morris Dixon said the MOU should be made public within days, noting that Dr. Chang’s earlier statements reflect its core terms.