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🇯🇲 Jamaica

Churches slam government over TCN deal

From Jamaica Gleaner · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) criticized the government's deal with the United States on Third Country National (TCN) deportees.
  • The JCC highlighted a perceived double standard, noting the government's past claims of insufficient capacity to accept regional migrants while now accommodating TCNs.
  • The church group expressed concerns about a lack of transparency surrounding the TCN arrangement, despite government clarifications.

The Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) has broken its silence on the controversial Third Country National (TCN) deportees arrangement between the United States and Jamaica. The JCC rebuked the government, citing a "troubling structural double standard" in migration governance.

We have been told repeatedly that Jamaica cannot absorb the vulnerable at our gates. Yet, when a proposal is brokered with a global superpower, our structural incapacity is suddenly set aside to accommodate a specialized transit apparatus.

— Jamaica Council of ChurchesThe JCC highlighted a perceived double standard in the government's approach to migrants.

In a statement signed by president Reverend Garth Minott, the JCC observed that successive administrations have repeatedly cited a lack of capacity and resources to justify turning away regional migrants, particularly those fleeing crises in Haiti. "We have been told repeatedly that Jamaica cannot absorb the vulnerable at our gates," the JCC stated. "Yet, when a proposal is brokered with a global superpower, our structural incapacity is suddenly set aside to accommodate a specialized transit apparatus."

The church body argued that public policy is a sacred trust tied to human life and dignity. "To turn away the desperate seafaring migrant while opening an official transit pipeline for a superpower’s unwanted populations is to be found fundamentally wanting in the scales of justice," the JCC warned. "We cannot trade our moral birth right for political expediency or foreign assistance dividends."

To turn away the desperate seafaring migrant while opening an official transit pipeline for a superpower’s unwanted populations is to be found fundamentally wanting in the scales of justice. We cannot trade our moral birth right for political expediency or foreign assistance dividends.

— Jamaica Council of ChurchesThe JCC criticized the moral implications of the TCN deal.

While acknowledging clarifications from National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang that Jamaica would host no more than 10 individuals at a time as a temporary transit point, the JCC stated its "core ethical and systemic anxieties remain completely un-allayed." The group also raised concerns about a "troubling cloak of secrecy" surrounding the arrangement, noting that the public has not been informed of the specific details. The JCC urged the government to explain why TCNs are being sent to third-party countries instead of their homelands and how this mitigates safety concerns.

our core ethical and systemic anxieties remain completely un-allayed.

— Jamaica Council of ChurchesThe JCC stated that clarifications from the government did not alleviate their concerns.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jamaica Gleaner in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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