Off the mark - US Embassy diplomatic note names Cabinet minister as originator of third-country nationals proposal 

A diplomatic note from the United States (US) Embassy in Kingston has stated  that a Cabinet minister proposed a controversial deal to Washington that would have had Jamaica “receive” up to 10,000 third-country nationals (TCNs). 

The note, sent to the Jamaican Government, said former Ambassador to the US and Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation, and Digital Transformation Audrey Marks made the proposal.

According to the note, shared with The Gleaner, Marks made the proposal to a US official attached to the US Department of Homeland Security during the Americas Counter Cartel Conference at the US Southern Command in Miami, Florida on March 5, 2026.

 It stated that Marks made the proposal “for a Third-Country National arrangement that would have Jamaica receive up to 10,000 third-country nationals from the United States”.

However, since the existence of the proposed arrangement was first revealed by The Gleaner on Tuesday, the Government has maintained that there is no agreement for 10,000 TCN’s to transit through Jamaica’s ports. 

Efforts by The Gleaner to reach Marks yesterday were unsuccessful as calls to her phone and questions sent to her via WhatsApp were not answered.

 The Gleaner asked the minister, via WhatsApp, what role, if any, she played in initiating or advancing discussions with US counterparts on the arrangement?

 Marks was also asked if she played any role, whether she acted on her own initiative or if she was operating under instruction from Cabinet or the line minister?

 Further, the minister was asked, if she played a role, when did the discussion with US counterparts take place?

 Up to press time, The Gleaner continued to make attempts to reach her by telephone for comment on the information contained in the document. 

 On Tuesday, The Gleaner reported that Kingston and Washington were expected to begin talks on the agreement first pitched by a senior Jamaican government official that could see the island accepting up to 10,000 non-Jamaicans being deported from the US.

 But in a statement late Tuesday, National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said the figure did not represent an agreed quota or commitment under the memorandum of understanding that he confirmed has been signed between both governments.

 Additionally, he said people deported under the arrangement to Jamaica would transit through the island to their country or a third country.

 At a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, Chang, who is also the deputy prime minister, told journalists that if the TCNs choose to stay in Jamaica, they would have to apply to the court for asylum status.

 The minister said if they are granted asylum status they are free to remain in Jamaica.

 “If they don’t, we send them home. At that time, we’ll have to send them home at our cost,” he said.

 Asked why it was necessary for the TCNs to transit through Jamaica, Chang said this was a “technical issue”.

 “…Jamaica is one of America’s allies in the Caribbean and we’ll work that through. The philosophy behind it, and I can’t say that is why, is that if they stay in the United States then they have an opportunity to apply to stay. So, the people who are coming in they’re coming literally from being apprehended at the border and sent to Jamaica after some routine checks are done.

 “They don’t intend to stay in Jamaica, so the United States pays their airfare and they go back home. Their return rate so far has been about 94 per cent. A few have opted to stay. There are a couple of Jamaicans in other countries who are not coming back to Jamaica. They were deported by the United States. When that happens the numbers in the next shipment drop by that number,” he said.

 Added Chang: “So if all 25 decide to stay, there will be no crowding and flooding of Jamaica. If all 25 decide to stay, we stop the programme immediately.”

 The Gleaner had reported that up to 25 TCNs would be sent from the US every two weeks for an unspecified period.

 Additionally, if at any point 10 or more TCNs transferred by the US remain in Jamaica for more than 30 days, the US will pause proposing the transfer of additional individuals until fewer than 10 transferred remain in Jamaica.

 “It doesn’t have an end point. It doesn’t seem to even have the starting point either. It’s an understanding which, while there is a need, we’ll work with. If we find it impossible to pursue it, we discontinue it,” said Chang.

 Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Fitz Jackson said it was “unacceptable” that neither the Opposition nor the public at large had any idea that the Government was contemplating committing Jamaica to the arrangement.

 Jackson said bilateral arrangements are aimed at pursuing common interests.

 “Common interest between the bilateral partners – my question then arises; what is Jamaica’s interest in this arrangement that is being considered with a disposition to implement. And I think not just the Opposition but the country should be told what Jamaica is set to benefit from from this arrangement being proposed,” he asked.

 Responding to a similar question during yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing, Chang had asserted that the question was “irrelevant”.

 “The idea of what we get out of it is not a relevant question. America is one of our strongest bilateral partners. We have [a] multiplicity of agreements, understanding, exchanges in all areas. It’s not something you discuss. We do this today, we do that for you tomorrow. That’s not a practice of any healthy bilateral relationship,” the minister said.

In Parliament, Jackson asked: “Is there a security risk to Jamaica that is being pursued here, is it so or is it not? Not a broad speculation, we would like an answer in that regard.

 “Because this arrangement is seeking to commit the country of Jamaica, it is only proper that the executed MOU that forms the basis of the arrangement being pursued be brought and tabled in this House,” the opposition spokesman added.

 “If the Government, and I hope that they do not, but should the Government proceed to enter into an arrangement on the basis on what we see here, that that agreement, which is being negotiated, as the minister indicated, be tabled in this House before it is implementation, not after, and we are left to react to what is already enforced.” 

 Jackson said to do otherwise “would be blatant contempt to the people of Jamaica”.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com