Jamaica has received its first group of third-country deportees from the United States, a development linked to a growing network of international agreements under President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, 22 deportees from the US arrived at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
Media reports said the group was then put onto a bus and driven to a location that has not been disclosed. The destination of the deportees has not been made public in the reports.
Growing number of countries take in third-country deportees
Deportations of this kind often involve people who are not citizens of the countries they are sent to and who have no existing ties there. Human rights groups and advocates have condemned the practice widely and have raised questions about whether it is lawful.
Jamaica is one of a growing number of countries agreeing to accept such deportees. The arrangements form part of Trump’s drive to carry out what is described as the largest mass deportation campaign in US history.
According to Third Country Deportation Watch, an advocacy project linked to Refugees International and Human Rights First, at least 35 countries have signed third-country deportation agreements with the US. The Washington Post reported last month that the Trump administration has set aside roughly $410m to support these efforts.
Jamaica’s memorandum and government assurances
Jamaica signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding in June to receive third-country deportees. Under the plan, the country would move each deportee on to their home country or another destination after arrival.
The government has also pledged that it will not accept any deportee who has a criminal record. In a joint statement, the Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade described the arrangement as a transit process meant to help people return to their countries of origin or to other countries willing to receive them.
The statement said the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, would support the care of the deportees. It also stressed that the government would not fund the arrangement: “The arrangement will not be funded by the Government of Jamaica.”
Opposition criticism and the foreign minister’s response
Opposition leaders in Jamaica criticised the deportation deal, presenting it as a threat to the island’s security. They also asked why the agreement had not been debated in public.
Fitz Jackson, the opposition spokesperson on national security, said Jamaicans were being asked to trust a secret document that affects their safety, their communities and their public services.
Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith responded that all questions about the deal had already been answered. She also said the US had not agreed to make the deal public. Writing on social media, she said: “As I explained before, some countries have agreed to receive criminals, we have not.” She added: “Some countries have had their agreements made public, but our partner has not agreed for this one to be.”
Legal and humanitarian concerns over removals from the US
Legal challenges to third-country deportations are continuing in the United States. Advocates there argue that people are being removed without due process, which they say is guaranteed by the constitutional right to a fair hearing.
Critics have also warned that such deportations can send migrants to countries where they may face danger. Some of the recipient countries, including South Sudan, are either caught up in ongoing conflict or have faced accusations of serious human rights abuses.
Opponents have even claimed that these deportations are being used as a back door around court protection orders. Such orders can bar the US government from sending certain immigrants back to their home countries because of fears of violence or persecution. Critics say that by sending migrants to third countries, the administration avoids breaching those orders, although in some cases the third country has then returned the deportee to the country named in the US order.
A February report by Democrats on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee quoted one official, who spoke anonymously, saying the purpose of such deportations was to instil fear. “The point is that the administration can threaten people that they will literally be dropped in the middle of nowhere,” the official said. “The point is to scare people.”
