Ministry stands with Chang

The Ministry of National Security has declared that no protocols were violated in the handling of an incident at the Sangster International Airport (SIA) on June 23, which was highlighted in an article published in yesterday’s Sunday Gleaner.

In a statement through the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, following the publication of the article, it was indicated that Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang had been approached with a query regarding an individual who was in Jamaica to attend the funeral of his grandmother and was refused landing due to a torn passport page.

“The minister, having not received any information about any negative behaviour by the traveller, exercised his legally empowered discretion and allowed him to land on humanitarian grounds,” the Ministry of National Security stated.

The Sunday Gleaner article had highlighted the “ordered” release of an American man from police custody after he was accused of verbally abusing and threatening the safety of an immigration officer at the SIA.

The incident had reportedly sparked allegations of political interference from angry border-protection officers in St James, with some sources claiming that the man had been charged with disorderly conduct, therefore making it inappropriate for the minister to intervene.

However, while speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Chang maintained that the man had not been charged and that he had not been aware of his disorderly behaviour until after the fact.

In its statement yesterday, the national security ministry said the police have confirmed that although the individual was taken to the police station, he was at no point charged with an offence.

“The official police report states that the traveller was Refused Leave to Land and placed in custody to await being returned to his country of origin on the next available flight,” the national security ministry said.

About 10:57 p.m., he was released to his family to allow him to attend his grandmother’s funeral. The aforementioned information is documented in the cell diary at the Barnett Street Police Station, and there is no entry at the station to suggest that the individual was charged with any crime or offence.”

The Gleaner has not seen the cell diary.

The Ministry of National Security stated, too, that Andrew Wynter, chief executive officer of PICA, confirmed that Chang “was unaware of any adverse behaviour exhibited by the individual when the agency requested an exemption on humanitarian grounds”.

The Ministry of National Security, in its statement, also indicated that Alison Stone Roofe, chief immigration officer for Jamaica and permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, said: “Based on consultations with the agency and a review by the Ministry of National Security, I can affirm that the minister acted within the law as outlined by the Aliens Act. The minister exercised his discretion upon the request of the Passport and Immigration Services. At the time the minister was engaged, he was not aware of any adverse behaviour by the traveller.”

The Ministry of National Security stated further that consultations with Attorney General Derrick McKoy confirmed that the minister possesses an overarching power under Section 17 of the Aliens Act, which, he said, indicates that “the Minister may direct that any person or class of persons shall be exempt, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Minister may impose, from all or any of the provisions of this Act”.