Dear Editor,
“It is the right of every nation-state to decide who can stay in its territories or borders and under what conditions.” (United Nations (2004) And so, deportation becomes necessary, and it is the right of the US, UK and Canada to deport any non-citizen, to wit, a Jamaican, who has been convicted of a crime or violates immigration laws.
The main deporting country to Jamaica is the US based on the passing of the Anti-Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 that former US President William ‘Bill’ Clinton signed into law. These ‘unforgiving’ laws resulted in millions of foreigners getting expelled from the country at an alarming rate, due to the retroactive effect of the IIRIRA that describes a ‘suspended sentence’ or probation as a “final order of conviction for immigration purposes”. This means that even if the person successfully completed the probation years ago and is living a normal life, he/she is ‘deportable’ and will be deported once he/she comes to the attention of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security that enforces US immigration laws very aggressively, especially when it comes to dealing with Jamaicans — a migrating people and an easily profiled or target group.
Because the US is a ‘wired-nation’, where information sharing is readily available to all government agencies, it is very easy to identify the ‘deportable’ and very hard for them to escape deportation if they received sentences that exceed a year in confinement. A sentence of at least a year or certain crimes is categorised as an aggravated felony, a condition for the expedite removal of a non-citizen — even those who have served in the armed forces, those who are married and have American children, and those who have no prior convictions.
Despite these, in INS vs St Cyr (2001), the US Supreme Court makes it possible for certain non-citizens to escape deportations by filing a petition called Cancellation of Removal if they have been convicted as a result of a plea agreement prior to the effective date of the IIRIRA (April 1, 1997). But the ways in which the IIRIRA is interpreted and enforced, many deportees, including myself, who has been convicted as a result of a plea agreement prior to the IIRIRA have been deported because of ‘due-process’ violations.
The Government of Jamaica lacks the jurisdiction to question any action by the US Government regarding those who are convicted and deported, so it is the duty of a non-citizen to facilitate his/her own lawyer in the host country in an attempt to prevent the removal. Although there are several facilities in Jamaica that cater to the needs of some of us, I believe that the lack of funding or volunteers prevented many deportees from getting the required assistance. But the resourceful ones are able to reintegrate into society without hindrances, or some will migrate to other borders, while a few will resort to crime and violence in a society that has very little tolerance for their circumstances.
There are two types of deportees (criminal and non-criminal) and roughly six different categories who are displaced, desperate, damaged, rich, resourceful, or extremely dangerous based on their criminal profiles. Despite the fact that the US deports the most, the Department of Homeland Security create ways in which a criminal deportee can return to that country, if the person meets the strict conditions and has no conviction in his/her country of nationality. And I am a testimony that several Jamaicans have petitioned the US Government and have been accepted.
Charles H Brown
charliebrown1004@gmail.com
“It is the right of every nation-state to decide who can stay in its territories or borders and under what conditions.” (United Nations (2004) And so, deportation becomes necessary, and it is the right of the US, UK and Canada to deport any non-citizen, to wit, a Jamaican, who has been convicted of a crime or violates immigration laws.
The main deporting country to Jamaica is the US based on the passing of the Anti-Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 that former US President William ‘Bill’ Clinton signed into law. These ‘unforgiving’ laws resulted in millions of foreigners getting expelled from the country at an alarming rate, due to the retroactive effect of the IIRIRA that describes a ‘suspended sentence’ or probation as a “final order of conviction for immigration purposes”. This means that even if the person successfully completed the probation years ago and is living a normal life, he/she is ‘deportable’ and will be deported once he/she comes to the attention of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security that enforces US immigration laws very aggressively, especially when it comes to dealing with Jamaicans — a migrating people and an easily profiled or target group.
Because the US is a ‘wired-nation’, where information sharing is readily available to all government agencies, it is very easy to identify the ‘deportable’ and very hard for them to escape deportation if they received sentences that exceed a year in confinement. A sentence of at least a year or certain crimes is categorised as an aggravated felony, a condition for the expedite removal of a non-citizen — even those who have served in the armed forces, those who are married and have American children, and those who have no prior convictions.
Despite these, in INS vs St Cyr (2001), the US Supreme Court makes it possible for certain non-citizens to escape deportations by filing a petition called Cancellation of Removal if they have been convicted as a result of a plea agreement prior to the effective date of the IIRIRA (April 1, 1997). But the ways in which the IIRIRA is interpreted and enforced, many deportees, including myself, who has been convicted as a result of a plea agreement prior to the IIRIRA have been deported because of ‘due-process’ violations.
The Government of Jamaica lacks the jurisdiction to question any action by the US Government regarding those who are convicted and deported, so it is the duty of a non-citizen to facilitate his/her own lawyer in the host country in an attempt to prevent the removal. Although there are several facilities in Jamaica that cater to the needs of some of us, I believe that the lack of funding or volunteers prevented many deportees from getting the required assistance. But the resourceful ones are able to reintegrate into society without hindrances, or some will migrate to other borders, while a few will resort to crime and violence in a society that has very little tolerance for their circumstances.
There are two types of deportees (criminal and non-criminal) and roughly six different categories who are displaced, desperate, damaged, rich, resourceful, or extremely dangerous based on their criminal profiles. Despite the fact that the US deports the most, the Department of Homeland Security create ways in which a criminal deportee can return to that country, if the person meets the strict conditions and has no conviction in his/her country of nationality. And I am a testimony that several Jamaicans have petitioned the US Government and have been accepted.
Charles H Brown
charliebrown1004@gmail.com