Audrey Marks rejects claims Jamaica agreed to take 10,000 US criminals

Ambassador Audrey Marks, Minister with responsibility for efficiency, innovation and digital transformation in the Office of the Prime Minister, has moved to correct widespread misinformation tying her to a United States third country nationals programme and claims that Jamaica agreed to receive thousands of convicted criminals.

Marks said she had left public responses to line ministers, including foreign affairs, national security and the information minister, but returned last week to find the country “flooded with misinformation,” including false reports that she proposed admitting 10,000 criminals.

She said the central falsehood is that Jamaica signed a memorandum of understanding allowing rapists, murderers and other serious offenders to enter. Much of the alarm, she added, followed a popular video featuring US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though reporting on 16 June in The Gleaner on a leaked MOU stated that Jamaica would not admit serious criminals.

According to that reporting, transfers of third country nationals would be suspended if more than 10 persons sought to remain in Jamaica. The United States would provide available biological, medical and criminal records, Jamaica would assess each person before transfer, and only adults without convictions for serious criminal offences—excluding immigration violations such as overstaying—would be considered. Jamaica would also retain discretion to refuse anyone on health, security or other grounds.

Marks said she was not involved in negotiating the MOU. On 2 January 2026, the US Embassy asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open talks; foreign affairs, national security, justice and the Attorney General’s Department led that work. She said roughly 27 to 28 countries have signed, with Belize among regional signatories from October, while Jamaica, Barbados and Ghana remain in negotiations.

Separately, her embassy developed a proposal from January 2025, finalised about March 2025, to expand seasonal farm work beyond a 20,000 cap, attract skilled professionals to ease labour shortages, support nearshore investment and strengthen security cooperation. A pilot of about 1,000 skilled workers, with scope to reach roughly 10,000 across communities, was distinct from the transit MOU.

Marks read from a diplomatic note showing the United States sought a 5 March 2026 meeting in Miami to discuss her arrangement for up to 10,000 third country nationals—not the MOU—for screened workers already in the US who might not obtain residency. She said “third country national” means someone who is not a citizen of the host or receiving state, not a criminal.

The MOU remains unpublished while terms are finalised. Marks said the International Organization for Migration would handle transit, with stays capped at seven to 14 days. Her skilled-worker proposal remains active as the government continues pushing back against false narratives.