No, Jamaica Is Not Taking 10,000 US Deportees — Here's What's Really Happening

The rumour spread like fire: Jamaica was about to take in 10,000 deportees from the United States, including criminals who could endanger the island. But on Tuesday, Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang shut that down hard.

"First, the report is false. There aren't any intentions to bring 10,000 illegal immigrants from the United States," Chang told the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

What's actually on the table is a Third-Country Nationals (TCN) agreement — a regional deal that several Caribbean nations have already signed. Under the plan, Jamaica would temporarily host migrants who entered the US illegally and are waiting to be sent back to their home countries. The numbers? Not more than 25 people in Jamaica at any one time, and under 50 per fortnight.

"It's a transitional moment for a small number of migrants. It's an MOU. If some choose to stay in Jamaica and apply for asylum, which they can do under international law, then the programme stops."

— Dr Horace Chang

The programme is backed by the United Nations International Organization for Migration, which will help move these people on to their own countries. And here's the key: the US is footing the entire bill. Plus, anyone with a criminal record is automatically barred.

The fear, sparked by a Gleaner report published Tuesday, centred on the idea that thousands of convicted criminals from the US — none of them Jamaican — would be dumped on the island. Participant Clive Saunders raised the question directly at the conference: "If it is true, what are the benefits [to] Jamaica of this move, and what are the potential safety and security implications?"

Chang explained that Jamaica isn't alone in this. Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, St Kitts, and Antigua have all signed on to similar TCN agreements. The arrangement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), not a binding treaty. Either country can walk away at any time.

"This is an MOU and not a binding agreement and doesn't come into effect until the completion of agreed pre-implementation requirements," a press release from the minister's office later stated. "It also doesn't create an automatic obligation for Jamaica to accept any individual."

The release also stressed that no transfers will happen until both countries finalise operational guidelines and procedures. Jamaica's sovereignty, Chang insisted, wasn't compromised during negotiations.

So for now, the 10,000 figure is dead on arrival. What's real is a small, controlled programme for people who are already being deported from the US — just passing through Jamaica on their way home. And if even one of them tries to stay and claim asylum, the whole thing stops.