TCN arrangement not transactional – Chang

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, Hon Dr Horace Chang, says that the agreement between Jamaica and the United States to accommodate Third Country Nationals (TCN) in the island is not a transactional arrangement.

“In terms of financing, we have never made it a transactional matter. We have received no funding from the United States; funding goes to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has host responsibility for them (TCNs) while they're here and will make arrangements for them to transit to their home country,” he said.

Chang was responding to questions during Wednesday’s (October 14) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in St. Andrew.

The first 22 TCNs – 15 males and seven females – arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston on Tuesday (October 13). They are under the care of the IOM while arrangements are made to facilitate their return to their respective home countries.

Dr. Chang said that the TCNs have been granted visitor status by the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), which means that they are free to operate as such while they are in Jamaica.

“They’re individuals from different cultures, and what they do is up to them. They're here as visitors and they're working closely with the IOM in terms of conveying relevant information. The IOM will extract the information they require to prepare them for transit to their home country. They are free to do as they are otherwise, like any visitor to Jamaica,” he said.

The Governments of Jamaica and the US, earlier this year, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate the temporary reception of individuals in Jamaica before return to their countries of origin.

It is a transit arrangement with the support of the IOM, which has been formally engaged to provide assistance to the individuals while they are in Jamaica and to facilitate their onward movement

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