Jamaica Receives First US Third-Country Deportations
Media reports said they were then put on a bus and driven to an unidentified destination. Such deportations of non-citizens with no links to their destinations have been widely condemned by human rights groups and campaigners, who have questioned their legality.
But Jamaica is one of a handful of nations, and a small but increasing number, that accept third-country deportations, as part of Trump’s drive to launch the greatest mass deportation campaign in US history. The advocacy organisation Third Country Deportation Watch, linked with the charities Refugees International and Human Rights First, says at least 35 nations have signed third-country deportation agreements with the US.
Last month, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration had set aside around $410m to help support such efforts. Jamaica signed a bilateral memorandum of agreement in June to accept third-country deportations. The proposal calls for Jamaica to return deportees to their home countries or other destinations upon arrival. The joint statement continued: “The Government of Jamaica will not be funding the arrangement.
But Jamaican opposition leaders condemned the deportation, saying the pact put the country’s security at risk. They also asked about the lack of public debate on the accord.
Jamaicans are being asked to trust a secret document that affects their security, communities, and public services, said Fitz Jackson, the opposition spokesperson on national security.
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith responded to Jackson’s comments, saying “all questions have been answered” on the deportation accord. She said the US has also not decided to make the arrangement public. Some countries have agreed to take criminals; we have not, as I’ve explained before,” she wrote on social media.
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