Key facts
- Jamaica is in discussions with the U.S. to accept third-country deportees.
- A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Jamaica may accept up to 25 third-country migrants every two weeks.
- Deportees will not be held in detention, but housing and compensation details are pending.
- The opposition criticizes the agreement, citing risks to national security and social infrastructure.
Jamaica is in discussions with the United States to accept third-country deportees, a move that would add the island nation to a growing number of Caribbean countries working with the Trump administration on its immigration agenda.
Jamaica’s National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang confirmed that the country has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to accept up to 25 people from countries other than Jamaica every two weeks. Chang stated that the deportees will not be placed in detention, though details of where they would be housed have yet to be determined, and compensation for accepting them is still being negotiated.
The opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has criticized the government for keeping the negotiations from the public, arguing that accepting the migrants places Jamaica’s internal security, international standing, and fragile social infrastructure at severe risk. A spokesperson for the opposition, Donna Scott Mottley, stated that Jamaicans deserve to know about any agreements reached.
Chang clarified that while Jamaica is obligated to accept its own citizens, this new arrangement is a structured process to transit foreign citizens, not to have them "dumped on our shores."
The U.S. administration has used similar agreements with other countries, deporting over 19,000 people to third countries. Most have been sent to Mexico, but over 1,500 have been sent to more than 20 other nations, often to curry favor with the U.S. Other Caribbean nations like the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Guyana have entered into various agreements with the U.S. regarding migrant acceptance, with differing conditions and limitations.
Critics and human rights advocates point to the case of Orville Etoria, a Jamaican citizen who lived in the U.S. for nearly 50 years before his green card was revoked. Instead of being repatriated to Jamaica, he was sent to Eswatini in July 2025 and detained indefinitely until diplomatic intervention secured his return to Jamaica. A U.S. federal district court ruled the third-country removal policy unlawful in February 2026, but enforcement is pending an appellate decision.