DEPORTED AFTER 33 YRS

Courtney Wilson appeared lost as he stepped on home soil for the first time in 33 years on Thursday after he and 51 other Jamaicans landed at the Norman Manley International Airport after being deported from the United States.

In fact, it was his first real sense of freedom in more than a decade after spending the last 13 years in a US prison.

“I got in some trouble,” was all he was ready to admit as he spoke to The Gleaner after emerging among the first of the deportees released after hours of processing.

Thursday’s deportation exercise was part of the routine involuntary removal of Jamaican citizens from the North American country, which happens every last Thursday.

It was, however, the first such chartered flight to Jamaica since President Donald Trump returned to office on January 20 and amid reports that some 5,120 Jamaicans were on a list of close to 1.5 million migrants in the US targeted for removal by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

While awaiting the arrival of his brother to pick him up, Wilson expressed concern for his family left in the US. He noted that he left Jamaica in 1993 and was residing in Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania.

“My kids and grandkids are there. It’s not a good feeling. I just got a great-granddaughter who will be three next month. I have not met her yet,” Wilson told The Gleaner.

Noting that he was penniless, he questioned the money allegedly paid by the American government to the Jamaican Government for the deportation process.

“I hear the Americans give the Jamaican Government money for every deportee, but we don’t see that,” he said. “Ask any deportee and dem tell yuh that. That is the story we hear.”

The Gleaner was unable to corroborate the claim.

Wilson said he counted six women on the flight, which landed about 10 a.m. on Thursday.

One of the women told The Gleaner that she was away for a short time, illegally crossing the US-Mexico border just three months ago.

The air was filled with anticipation as nervous relatives milled about, scanning the faces of all arriving passengers to find their kin.

“It’s been eight years since he went away,” one sibling told The Gleaner. “I’m just excited and anxious to see him.”

Tears and hugs followed as others were reunited with their loved ones though some were not as fortunate.

A few deportees were handed over to local police for continued investigation into charges they had absconded. One man, whose head was covered, was taken by St James police while another, wanted for murder in Clarendon, was dragged into a nearby holding cell until officers from that parish arrived.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in her debut press briefing, stressed that the Trump administration would be ramping up deportations.

“The president has said countless times that he is focused on launching the largest mass-deportation operation in American history of illegal criminals, and if you are an individual, a foreign national who illegally enters the United States of America, you are, by definition, a criminal, and, therefore, you are subject to deportation,” she said.

On Wednesday, the Jamaican Government said that the National Security Council was assessing risks associated with the deportation of Jamaicans with serious criminal backgrounds and was formulating strategies to mitigate potential threats.

In a statement yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith noted that some individuals set to be deported may have breached immigration laws but have otherwise been law-abiding residents engaged in productive employment.

She said others have been convicted of serious criminal offences, including violent crimes.

Johnson Smith said the Government was concerned about the potential impact of the anticipated increased return of individuals with serious criminal backgrounds and is taking steps to ensure public safety.

She urged Jamaicans in the US who are concerned about their immigration status to seek professional legal advice.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com