KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government Senator Marlon Morgan has dismissed comments made by Opposition Senator Lambert Brown regarding the nature of the individuals who could transit through Jamaica under a third-country national (TCN) agreement with the United States (US).

Speaking during Friday’s sitting of the Senate, Brown, while referencing comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, described the agreement as a move by the US to dump “some of the most despicable, pedophiles and dangerous people” in Jamaica.

READ: Lambert Brown slams TCN agreement

In a statement issued on Sunday, Morgan described Brown’s remarks as “reckless, irresponsible and grossly misleading”, insisting that Jamaica will not accept individuals with criminal records under the agreement.

“What Lambert Brown has alleged is false and he knows it. The ministers responsible for information and national security, respectively, have been very clear. Jamaica has expressly indicated that no individual with criminal antecedents will be accepted into the island under the agreement regarding asylum seekers. This has been outlined unequivocally and reiterated on several occasions,” Morgan said.

He accused Brown of deliberately misrepresenting the agreement.

“In a most egregious, reckless and vulgar display, however, Lambert Brown sought to mislead the country into thinking otherwise. We reject the misleading allegation from Brown and the PNP (People’s National Party) and reaffirm that the Government has been diligent in protecting Jamaica’s best interest,” he continued.

Morgan further argued that Brown’s comments reflected what he described as a pattern by the Opposition of promoting false narratives for political gain.

Addressing the agreement itself, Morgan said the memorandum forms part of an arrangement between the United States and more than 20 territories across the region to facilitate the temporary transit of a limited number of asylum seekers to their countries of origin.

He maintained that the arrangement includes safeguards to protect Jamaica’s national security and public interest while supporting one of the country’s longstanding allies and major trading partners.

“Any suggestion to the contrary from the PNP and their surrogates is false and politically contrived to stir fear among our citizens, on the basis of false and reckless allegations which have no merit and are indeed not grounded in truth,” Morgan said.