No thank you - Jamaica rejects US proposed deportee programme

The Jamaican Government in 2007 reportedly rejected a programme proposed by the United States to deal with deportees despite previously appealing to Washington for assistance with the problem.

A confidential diplomatic cable accessed by The Gleaner through WikiLeaks reveals that the Bruce Golding administration said no to the progamme which would have seen the US help to fund the reintegration of force-returned migrants.

"On December 20 (2007), the Jamaican prime minister rejected the US offer for assistance for returning deportees though the pilot Deportee Reintegration Programme," said the December cable from Kingston to Washington.

It added: "This decision was based on adherence to a reported collective decision by CARICOM heads of government to discuss the programme with the US on a regional basis; and came despite heavy lobbying of the prime minister and his staff by both (the) ambassador and the chargé d'affaires."

According to the cable, as a result of Jamaican Government's refusal of the programme, there was "no option left to the department but reassignment of the funds that would have been used for Jamaica to another CARICOM partner nation".

The cable noted that while Jamaica rejected the United States' offer, Guyana, another CARICOM country, signed the deal which would see the establishment of a permanent intake centre to serve as a temporary residential facility for deportees and provide them with adequate social and financial assistance to successfully reintegrate into society.

The United States, in an attempt to sway Jamaica's minister of national security, had written to him saying: "We are aware that you feel certain CARICOM entities are at risk if you agree to proceed, and that these Jamaican concerns are abetted by some individuals in CARICOM."

No increase in deportees

The embassy said "the programme does not entail any proposed or anticipated increase in the flow of deportees from the US to Jamaica".

It also noted data that show Jamaica, Guyana and The Bahamas to be receiving the most deportees from the US.

"The governments of both Guyana and The Bahamas have indicated their intention to proceed with the programme, without any objection, reservation or condition related to CARICOM," the cable stated.

In a last-ditch effort to get Jamaica to agree, the embassy told the Jamaican Government it "is solely meant to benefit your country in a way you would find most appropriate to your needs, and is intended to meet a long-stated concern of Jamaica's about the resource cost to resettling returning deportees".

A CARICOM study found that almost 30,000 criminal offenders had been deported to Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago between 1990 and 2005.

More than 17,000 had been deported for drug offences; almost 1,800 for possession of illegal firearms, and more than 600 for murder. The United States is responsible for more than 75 per cent of all criminal deportations to the region.

Jamaica had long been calling for assistance to deal with deportees claiming that they are a major part of the country's crime problem although actual data do not substantiate the point.

Despite refusing the US assistance, the Government accepted similar help from the United Kingdom in 2008.

In 2008, local authorities were getting help from the British government in an attempt to deal with the problem of deportees who struggle to reintegrate into society.

Under that programme, convicts who have served their prison terms in the UK and are deported to Jamaica benefit under a three-year scheme financed by the British government to the tune of approximately J$345 million.

"The programme will build the capacity of the Ministry of National Security, the Department of Correctional Services and civil society to effectively rehabilitate and reintegrate local offenders and deported persons," then National Security Minister Colonel Trevor MacMillan declared.

He noted that a hostel-reception centre had been established where deportees would be taken when they return to the island.

The United States Embassy in Kingston said "as a matter of policy, the US government does not comment on the contents of these alleged cables that purport to include classified information".

"The US Embassy condemns in the strongest terms the deliberate and unauthorised disclosure of information, represented as classified materials by individuals and organisations, which puts lives at risk and jeopardises our national interests."

See more on Jamaica's refusal of the programe in tomorrow's Gleaner.