JCSA president raises concerns over Jamaica-US third-country migrant transit plan

The president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), Tisha Clark Griffith, has added her voice to growing public concern over the Government’s plan to temporarily host third-country nationals on behalf of the United States ahead of their deportation.

Griffith raised the issue while addressing an awards ceremony for long-serving civil servants in Manchester. She warned that Jamaica could end up sharing space with people the country does not want to keep, saying migrants could soon be staying overnight on the island. She stressed that Jamaica already faces enough domestic challenges and expressed hope that the arrangement would not turn out to be as worrying as many fear.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang has said the plan stems from a memorandum of understanding with the United States under which migrants would transit through Jamaica on their way to final destinations elsewhere.

Under the proposed arrangement, Jamaica would take in up to 25 migrants every two weeks. Dr Chang has insisted that no more than 25 persons would remain in the country at any one time.

He said negotiations are still under way, but there is agreement for the United States to cover the cost of the deportees’ initial stay in Jamaica. The exact amount has not been disclosed.