Jamaica accepts 22 deportees from the US — Al Jazeera

Jamaica on Tuesday accepted the first flight from the United States carrying 22 deportees under an agreement on third-country deportations. The people arrived at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. As Al Jazeera reports, media outlets said they were put on a bus after arrival and taken to an undisclosed location.

Transit agreement

Jamaica signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding with the United States in June. Under the agreement, the country will receive deportees from third countries in transit and subsequently send them to their countries of origin or other states that agree to accept them.

Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said the government would not accept deportees with criminal records. The International Organization for Migration is expected to provide support in caring for them. The government also stressed that it would not finance the arrangement.

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Opposition criticism

Jamaican opposition politicians criticized the agreement, calling it a potential threat to the island’s security, and questioned the lack of public discussion of the document. Opposition spokesperson on national security Fitz Jackson said citizens were being asked to trust a non-public agreement concerning security, communities and public services.

Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith responded that questions about the arrangement had already been answered. According to her, the United States did not agree to release the text of the agreement. She also said Jamaica had not agreed to accept criminals, unlike some other states.

According to the Third Country Deportation Watch project, at least 35 countries have reached agreements with the United States on third-country deportations. Legal challenges to the practice continue in the US: human rights advocates argue that people may be deported without due process and to countries where they face danger.