Kingston, Jamaica – Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith says the third Jamaican deported from the United States to the African nation of Eswatini earlier this month has also indicated that he does not wish to return to Jamaica at this time.
Johnson Smith provided the update during a post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, noting that all three Jamaican nationals removed to the southern African nation under the United States’ controversial Third Country National (TCN) programme have now expressed a desire to remain there rather than return home.
The minister said the Jamaican government is still awaiting a response from U.S. authorities regarding the circumstances under which the three men were deported to Eswatini.
She also disclosed that the United States does not notify the Jamaican government when its nationals are removed to a third country under the TCN arrangement, limiting Kingston’s ability to respond promptly to such cases.
Eswatini is the former Kingdom of Swaziland. The name was changed in 2018 as the country marked the 50th Anniversary of Independence. (CMC)