US in talks with Jamaica to send third-country migrants as rift widens in Caribbean

Source: AP

Updated 5:36 PM EDT, June 17, 2026


KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica is in discussions with the United States to accept third-country deportees, a move that would add the island nation to a growing number of Caribbean countries working with the Trump administration on its immigration agenda.

Jamaica’s National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang confirmed Tuesday that the country has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to accept up to 25 people from countries other than Jamaica every two weeks.

The deportees, said Chang, will not be placed in detention, though details of where they would be housed have yet to be determined. Compensation for accepting them is still being hashed out. If the agreement is finalized, Jamaica would join Mexico, El Salvador, Uganda and a number of other countries that have agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the U.S.

The move is already getting pushback from the Opposition People’s National Party, or PNP, which accused the Jamaican government of keeping the negotiations from the public. The PNP argued that accepting the migrants places Jamaica’s internal security, international standing, and fragile social infrastructure at severe risk.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/migrants-deportation-us-jamaica-c033a9492fa0fc816a68e9ec299936c3