Advocates Network calls for TCN Jamaica/US agreement to be made public and for people’s views to be considered in negotiation phase

The Advocates Network (AN) says the recently signed Third Country National (TCN) agreement between Jamaica and the United States must be made public if the Government is to regain the trust and confidence of citizens.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) facilitates the temporary housing of TCNs after which they will transit through Jamaica to their final destinations.

According to the Government, the TCNs are expected to stay on the island for seven days, with an absolute maximum of 14 days. A maximum of 25 TCNs can arrive in Jamaica every two weeks.

However, the MOU has sparked widespread public discussion and protests over whether the Government is being transparent about the migrant deal.

This, as the public was initially made aware of the MOU through the media.

Persons have also expressed concern that the agreement, though already signed, is still being negotiated.

In a statement this morning, AN said since the MOU is already signed, there is no justification to wait until the negotiation of details is complete.

The advocacy group noted that, having been left out of the pre-signing consultation, at a minimum, the people’s view must be taken into consideration during the negotiation of the details phase.