Jamaica began accepting third-country deportations from the United States this week, with the first flight of migrants arriving in Kingston on Tuesday. The move marks the start of a new arrangement under President Donald Trump's administration, which has used this policy to deport migrants who claim their home countries are too dangerous for them to return to.
Twenty-two migrants landed at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. The United States and Jamaica signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June that permits these transfers. The agreement limits the number of arrivals to 25 people per fortnight. Jamaican authorities clarified the details of the program in a joint statement released on Tuesday by the Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, according to NBC News.
The statement describes the program as a transit arrangement intended to help return Third Country Nationals to their countries of origin or other receiving nations. It notes that the International Organization for Migration supports this process. The government stated that the arrangement will not be funded by Jamaica and that no third-country national with a criminal record will be permitted to transit through the country.
This development occurs while the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on the legality of third-country deportations. The court is set to consider the policy in December. In September, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to continue its deportations while the legal question is being litigated. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, stating they would have denied the administration's request for a stay.
The current ruling provides the administration with immediate relief as it proceeds with third-country removals. The core of the dispute involves the government's efforts to remove illegal aliens to third countries. Lower courts have not categorically banned these removals but have required procedures that give aliens an opportunity to raise claims of potential persecution or torture in the destination country.