Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang on Tuesday confirmed that the Government is negotiating the US-backed arrangement but said it is not opening the country’s borders for an uncontrolled migration programme. Photo: Jamaica Gleaner

Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang on Tuesday confirmed that the Government is negotiating the US-backed arrangement but said it is not opening the country’s borders for an uncontrolled migration programme.

Chang said the safety and security of Jamaicans and visitors to the island as well as its obligations under international law “have guided every step of the discussions on this memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Jamaica and the United States of America concerning Third Country Nationals (TCNs)”.

It followed an article published in The Gleaner yesterday that disclosed that the US had sent a proposal to the Government surrounding Jamaica’s acceptance of third-country nationals.

“I want to first clarify that the individuals who may be transferred under this framework are not being brought to Jamaica as permanent migrants. These are nationals of other countries other than Jamaica who are being facilitated through a structured process to transit through Jamaica to a third territory, including return to their home countries. Jamaica is not opening its borders for an uncontrolled migration programme,” Chang said, confirming, at the same time, that up to 25 deportees would be sent to the island every two weeks.

However, University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturer in the Department of Government Damion Gordon said while he appreciated Chang’s attempt to provide clarity, the proposed deal did not stand on any solid or justifiable foundation.

Gordon argued that the arrangement could not be a joint security cooperation since there are no perceptible security benefits for Jamaica.

He called the proposed deal a furtherance of the Donald Trump administration's “radical anti-immigration policy” that disproportionately targets immigrants of colour from Africa and Central America.

“We have to place this proposed deal within the broader context of discriminatory policies towards certain groups, predominantly from Third World African and Central American nations, and the extent to which Jamaica's involvement as a transhipment point could be seen as complicit in discrimination or unfair and unequal treatment of certain groups,” he said.

Gordon asserted that this is because there have been concerns that many of the people being deported have been denied due process in the US.

He said some were “rounded up by ICE agents, separated from their families, detained, and are being sent to countries with which they have no ties against their wishes”.

Gordon argued that this raises ethical concerns about the fair and humane treatment of the third-country nationals.

He noted further that these arrangements often involve poor Third World countries and not wealthy European countries. He said this is further proof of the discriminatory nature of this policy and how the Third World is broadly perceived by the US relative to Europe.

“I also cannot understand the basis for Jamaica being used as a transhipment point if the deportees are not stopping over. Why not just deport them to their native countries as has always been the case? Do we have the infrastructure to support this complex operation? Why wasn't the public consulted on such a radical policy matter?” Gordon questioned.

He said by facilitating the US migrant transit deal, Jamaica risks violating international human rights frameworks, damaging its global reputation and exposing itself to serious future legal and moral challenges.

“There may be an economic rationale, but this issue is fundamentally a humanitarian and moral one, and we have to tread carefully, or this may become a defining moment for the country and the Government, and not necessarily in a good way,” he said.

Professor of Caribbean Sustainable Development at UWI Anthony Clayton noted that in most cases, the people being deported have applied for asylum in the US but have been rejected or have committed offences such as a visa violation.

He said in the past, people would have ordinarily been deported to their country of origin except in cases where it was clear that they would face persecution or death if they were sent back.

He said under new policies, the Trump administration wants a faster, cheaper process, with fewer opportunities to challenge particular deportations in order to accelerate the rate at which undocumented immigrants and failed asylum seekers could be shipped out of the country.