5 questions about Jamaica’s deal to accept U.S. third-country deportees

1. What has Jamaica agreed to do?

Jamaica has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to accept up to 25 deportees from countries other than Jamaica every two weeks. National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang described it as a “structured, managed process” to transit foreign nationals through Jamaica to their final destination, not a permanent resettlement arrangement.

2. Who are these deportees and where do they come from?

They are migrants the U.S. has deported to third countries — meaning nations other than their own — as part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Since the policy began, more than 19,000 people have been deported to third countries, scattered across more than 20 nations, with some sent to countries they had reportedly never heard of.

3. Is this deal legal, and is Jamaica the only Caribbean country doing this?

A U.S. federal district court struck down the third-country removal policy as unlawful in February 2026, but it continues to be enforced pending appeal. Jamaica is not alone — the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana have all entered into varying agreements with the U.S., often to avoid trade restrictions or economic penalties.

4. What are the risks, and is there opposition?

Jamaica’s opposition People’s National Party argues the deal puts the country’s internal security, international standing and social infrastructure at severe risk, and has criticized the government for conducting negotiations without public transparency. A real-world example of the dangers involves Jamaican citizen Orville Etoria, who was mistakenly deported to Eswatini instead of Jamaica, where he was indefinitely detained in a maximum-security prison before being repatriated after two months of diplomatic intervention.

5. What still needs to be worked out?

Key details remain unsettled, including where the deportees will be housed — Chang confirmed they will not be detained — and what compensation Jamaica will receive for participating. The agreement has not yet been finalized.

For more on this report, read “U.S. in talks with Jamaica to send third-country migrants as rift widens in Caribbean” from The Associated Press, published on The Washington Times.