JCC calls on Gov’t to halt finalization of TCN agreement with US

The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) is calling on the Government to halt the finalization of the Third-Country National agreement with the United States until it has been subjected to rigorous transparent parliamentary debate and broad civic consultation.

There have been protests and fierce public debate since it was revealed that the Government and U.S. authorities were in talks over allowing undocumented individuals in America to transit through Jamaica en route to their homeland.

Concern also mounted about any acceptance of persons with criminal background. The Government has rejected this saying no such individual will be allowed to enter Jamaica.

In a statement, the JCC says it acknowledges that the Government faces complex national security challenges, economic constraints, and geopolitical pressures, particularly in an era of aggressive international enforcement.

However, it says national development plans cannot be achieved through the degradation of international humanitarian conventions or the risk of chain refoulement—as illustrated by the tragic administrative error that saw a Jamaican citizen unlawfully deported to Eswatini in 2025.

JCC is asking the government to release the complete text and operational guidelines of the proposed transit arrangement to the public to answer the logical contradictions regarding third-country routing.

It is also demanding the Andrew Holness administration to provide absolute legal guarantees that no foreign national transferred to jamaica will be denied an individualized, fair Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process, or pushed back into territories where their life or freedom is threatened.

JCC urges the Government to choose the path of righteousness, equity, and genuine international solidarity over the fleeting convenience of transactional diplomacy.