Jamaica signs deal to host non-Jamaican deportees as teen faces robbery charges in St. Elizabeth

Jamaica has agreed to accept non-Jamaican nationals arrested by United States authorities under a pact signed last week, National Security Minister Dr. Doris Chang confirmed.

Washington has pressed several countries to take in migrants who entered the US without authorisation, including some convicted of serious offences. A number of governments have declined the Trump administration’s request. Chang told Wednesday’s post-Cabinet media briefing that an announcement had been planned for Tuesday, but Jamaica signed on Wednesday and she reserved comment for an event in Montego Bay before issuing a press release.

She said officials will work with the International Organization for Migration on suitable arrangements for arrivals. After routine checks, most are not expected to remain on the island; the United States covers airfare for return travel. Chang put the homeward return rate at about 94%, though a few have chosen to stay. She said the programme would halt immediately if an entire group of 25 opted to remain.

An opposition spokesman on national security said the arrangement raises more questions than answers. He questioned whether Jamaica should become involved in US immigration enforcement at a time when local detention facilities are already overcrowded, citing the General Penitentiary and institutions in St. Catherine. He urged the government to be transparent about the full terms of any deal with Washington and to place Jamaican interests first.

In St. Elizabeth, a 15-year-old student of BB Kokai School in Junction has been charged with robbery with aggravation and assault occasioning bodily harm after an incident at the school on May 26. Police allege that around 11:00 a.m., a 13-year-old girl was in a bathroom when the accused and two females with covered faces approached her. The teenager is accused of stabbing the girl in the face three times, stamping her stomach, holding a knife to her neck, and taking $450 in cash. A court date is being finalised.

A motorist crashed into a fuel pump at the Texico service station at 141 Constant Spring Road in St. Andrew on Tuesday afternoon, sparking a fire shortly before 4:00 p.m. Staff and security used extinguishers before the Jamaica Fire Brigade and police arrived. Injuries were not immediately confirmed.

A 29-year-old construction worker from Burn Savannah, St. Elizabeth, has been charged with five sexual offences against his 15-year-old stepdaughter, including possession and distribution of child pornography, after police retrieved a video from the victim’s phone.

Businessman Shan Walker, 34, of Crawford, St. Elizabeth, was granted $2 million bail in the St. James Parish Court on Tuesday on charges of attempting to smuggle $270,580 in US currency hidden in soap boxes at Sangster International Airport on June 7. Prosecutors said US authorities are also investigating him. He is due back in court on July 1.

Officials also broke ground for 221 homes on 36 acres along Featherbed Lane, now designated Featherbed Drive, as part of a new housing development.