KINGSTON, Jamaica – Twenty of the 22 third-country nationals (TCNs) who arrived in Jamaica last month under an arrangement with the United States have departed the island, the government said.
Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. Dana Morris Dixon.Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. Dana Morris Dixon, said the two remaining individuals had indicated their intention to return to their home countries and were expected to leave shortly.
She said their departure was expected before the expiration of the 30-day period granted for their stay, which is around November 14. The group arrived on October 13.
Morris Dixon, who was responding to questions at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was overseeing arrangements for the individuals’ departure. She said Jamaica had treated the TCNs humanely and with dignity during their stay.
The minister also disclosed that another flight carrying one TCN was expected to arrive in Jamaica this week.
The latest update represents an increase in departures from the 10 reported by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith last week.
At that time, Johnson Smith said one of the 22 individuals had requested to remain in Jamaica, while discussions were continuing with the others about their departure arrangements.
The Governments of Jamaica and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to facilitate the temporary reception of certain individuals in Jamaica before their return to their countries of origin.
The arrangement, supported by the IOM, provides assistance to the individuals during their stay and facilitates their onward travel.
The Jamaican government has said it is not funding the arrangement and that no TCN with a criminal record, other than breaking US immigration law, will be permitted to transit through the island under the programme. It said the individuals are vetted by both the United States and Jamaica before entering the island.
The memorandum provides for the suspension of the arrangement if 10 TCNs apply to remain in Jamaica through asylum applications or other humanitarian processes.
