Jamaica confirms US transit arrangement for deported third-country nationals

Jamaica has confirmed a memorandum of understanding with the United States under which nationals of other countries ordered removed by American authorities may transit through the island on their way home or to third territories, the Ministry of National Security said in a statement on Tuesday, 16 June 2026.

Officials said these third country nationals would not be permanently settled here. The ministry outlined safeguards including individual vetting, health screening, criminal record checks, and clearance by the National Intelligence Bureau. It also cited a hard cap of no more than ten such persons remaining in Jamaica within any thirty-day window, and said Jamaica retains full authority to reject any proposed transfer.

The announcement followed morning reports that Kingston was in talks with Washington about the arrangement, and it has stirred immediate legal and political debate. Attorney-at-law Dr Marcus Goff, partner at Goff Law and lecturer at the UWI Mona Faculty of Law, said his "jaw dropped" when he heard the news. He called the plan "highly concerning" and "highly hypocritical" given Jamaica's record on Haitian migrants and other asylum seekers, and pointed to the United Kingdom's overturned Rwanda arrangement as a warning. Goff argued Jamaica lacks safe refugee-processing infrastructure and is likely to face constitutional challenge.

Opposition spokesman on national security Fitz Jackson said his side learned of the deal through Tuesday's publication and was never consulted. He questioned Jamaica's interest in the arrangement and noted the current administration had rejected an earlier proposal to host Jamaican nationals detained in the United Kingdom.

In a separate matter, the Court of Appeal granted Jackson leave to challenge a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that sided with Scotiabank in his seven-year dispute over a $385 check encashment fee at the bank's Portmore branch in 2019. Jackson said Scotiabank later discontinued the charge, but he wants a ruling that such fees breach existing legislation.

The 11th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference is underway in Montego Bay, with Minister of State Alando Terrelonge stressing partnership over remittances alone. Bank of Jamaica data show overseas remittances reached US$3.36 billion in 2024, equal to 16.9 per cent of gross domestic product.