Civil society groups braved the heat of the sun to lead scores of Jamaicans in chants of protest in Cross Roads, St Andrew, Tuesday, to get the message across to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness that they have grave concerns about a number of recent issues. Chief among them was the proposed third-country nationals (TCN) agreement with the United States (US).

Protester Tanisha Francis juxtaposed the TCN issue with a decision, earlier this year, to, as she saw it, “send home” Cuban doctors and nurses who were making a significant contribution to the country’s public health system.

“Andrew Holness sent home the doctors and wants to bring in people who could be thieves. We already are fighting to keep down the crime rate. Enough poverty is here and we have enough homeless people. When you bring so many immigrants here what do you expect will happen?