Trump Deportations: Jamaica Takes First Third-Country Flight
The trump deportations program hit a new milestone this week as Jamaica accepted the first US flight carrying people deported to a third country, under a June agreement that makes the island a transit point for removals.
The flight landed Tuesday at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston with 22 people on board. Local media reports said the deportees were boarded onto a bus and taken to an undisclosed location after arrival.
Jamaica’s government described the deal as a transit arrangement: those flown in will be transferred onward to their home countries or other destinations, and the country has pledged not to accept anyone with a criminal record. Officials said care for the deportees will be supported by the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, and that Jamaica will not pay for the arrangement.
A Growing Global Network
Jamaica is among a growing number of countries to accept third-country deportations as part of the administration’s effort to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in US history. At least 35 countries have entered into third-country deportation agreements with the United States, according to Third Country Deportation Watch, an advocacy project affiliated with Refugees International and Human Rights First.
The Washington Post reported last month that the administration has earmarked roughly $410 million to support the effort. Opposition leaders in Jamaica, meanwhile, have attacked the deal as a threat to the island’s security and questioned why the agreement was never debated in public.
Rights Groups Push Back
The expansion comes amid fierce criticism from human-rights organizations. A Human Rights Watch report published on October 8 found that US immigration authorities transferred 536 people to African third countries between January 2025 and August 2026, documenting arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and inadequate protection against being sent onward to dangerous places.
The rights group said the policy violates international human-rights law and is designed to use suffering as a deterrent to migration. On the same day the report was released, a US federal judge ordered the administration to facilitate the return of an Egyptian man deported to Equatorial Guinea, where he was subsequently detained — a case rights advocates say illustrates the dangers of sending migrants to countries where they have no ties.
Source: Al Jazeera