Opposition grills Chang in Parliament over Jamaica-US third-country migrant pact

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang appeared before the House of Representatives on Wednesday to address the third-country national arrangement between Jamaica and the United States, drawing sustained scrutiny from the parliamentary opposition.

The session followed a post-Cabinet press briefing and quickly turned tense. Opposition members and the House leader disputed the rules governing questions and answers after Dr Chang outlined the agreement. At one point, proceedings were briefly suspended as tempers flared. Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness was heard describing an opposition member as a bully. Several opposition MPs rose in protest against the Speaker's position, though they did not walk out.

Opposition spokesman on national security Fitz Jackson said it was disrespectful that Jamaica learned of the pact through the media rather than from the Government. "Neither the opposition nor the public at large in Jamaica had any idea that the government of our country was contemplating committing Jamaica to what is being provided for in this document. That I must say at the outset Madam Speaker, is unacceptable," he told the House.

Mr Jackson also pressed Dr Chang on where deportees would be held, noting Jamaica's longstanding difficulty in meeting acceptable standards for detaining people. "So we have long standing inability, incapability of providing what is deemed acceptable and reasonable condition for the detention of persons in Jamaica. Why are we seeking to compound our problem?" he asked.

Dr Chang said the individuals would not be detained. He described them as being in Jamaica on a transitional basis, free to move about while awaiting return to their home countries, with support from the International Organization for Migration.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding raised a further concern, asking whether Dr Chang was aware that a federal court in the United States had ruled the third-country removal policy unlawful, with the US Government appealing to the Supreme Court. He said the legal footing of the arrangement under American law remained unsettled.