The accelerated deportation of Jamaican migrants to their country has increased in the United States in 2022, for the first time in five years.
Related:
Jamaica Eliminates Brazil From the 2023 Women's World Cup
About 562 people returned to the Caribbean nation last year, compared to the 501 who returned to native soil in 2021, revealed the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2020 (ESSJ). From the United States, 328 people have arrived, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom.
Of those deported, 80.3 percent were men. Just over 40 percent overstayed in the foreign country, entered illegally or were guilty of illegal re-entry.
In 2022, a total of 84 people were deported from the United States for drug possession, 14 for firearm-related offenses and 34 for murder, manslaughter or attempted murder.
The above represents a reversal in the downward trend in the number of deportees that Jamaica experienced in recent years; from 1,393 in 2017, to 501 in 2020.
With the Biden’s administration, the deportations of Jamaicans increased, while in his electoral campaign he announced more tolerant measures. This administration has ended up being more aggressive than the previous one in terms of immigration policy. The numbers have exceeded the number of deportations that took place during the last pandemic.
The deportees arrive to a society that continues to be affected by macroeconomic and fiscal factors. The trade balance, fiscal deficits and high public debt keep society stuck in high inflation and deteriorating living conditions of vulnerable sectors. This situation is expressed in daily life, with increasing marginalization and poverty, as well as high vulnerability to natural disasters.
For this and other reasons, increased deportations are not expected to decrease the flow of Jamaican immigrants to the United States. Immigration in Jamaica continues to grow.
Male immigration continues to be higher than female immigration, with the country ranking 162nd in the world in terms of immigration percentages. Nearly 1.3 million Jamaicans live abroad, at least 36 percent of the population. Immigrants, mostly young, imply a high brain-drain for the country, affecting the economic development of the island.
Today, returnees could be integrated into society in an affective way. For them, there are assistance programs in the country that seek to support forced returnees, especially women returning to rural communities.