Woman pulled from plane sues Gov’t over passport, alleged rights breaches
Published:Saturday | June 14, 2025 | 12:08 AM
A Jamaican businesswoman is suing the minister of national security and the attorney general, alleging that her passport was unlawfully seized by immigration authorities and held for nearly seven months without due process.
Jacqueline Dahila Thompson, who resides in the United States and regularly conducts business between both countries, filed the lawsuit in the Supreme Court on March 20.
She is seeking declarations that her fundamental rights under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms have been violated by the conduct of officers of the Passport, Immigration & Citizenship Agency (PICA), which operates under the authority of the Ministry of National Security.
Thompson’s claim names Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang as the first defendant and the attorney general of Jamaica as the second, arguing that the Government’s continued failure to return her passport, along with its lack of formal communication, amounts to serious constitutional breaches.
A hearing was held in chambers on Monday before Justice Tracey-Ann Johnson. The matter has been set for mention again on July 1. It’s understood that a defence has not yet been filed.
According to court filings, the alleged violations stem from PICA’s seizure and continued detention of Thompson’s passport on November 15, 2024, when she was removed from an aircraft at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
DOCUMENTS CONFISCATED
Thompson says she was instructed to report to PICA’s Constant Spring Road headquarters in St Andrew the same day, where her document was confiscated by a field officer. She said a receipt was issued. She insists her passport was valid, having been issued in January 2022.
Three days later, on November 18, Thompson said she returned to PICA for an interview, during which she was informed that a photograph resembling her had been linked to a previous passport application.
She denies any knowledge of such an application and explained that her previous renewals were consistently done through the Jamaican Consulate in New York.
Despite this, Thompson argues, PICA withheld the passport and allegedly provided no official communication or written explanation for the seizure or its continued detention.
The businesswoman said repeated attempts to resolve the matter have been ignored. On November 29, she said she returned to PICA with her father to verify her identity and was told she would receive an update within days, but no further action was taken.
She said her attorneys sent formal letters on January 9 and January 29, 2025, requesting a resolution, but received no reply. A hard copy of the second letter was hand-delivered on February 11, yet the passport remains in PICA’s custody, according to court documents.
On January 15, Thompson said she was informed by phone that a recommendation had been made for the return of her passport and was told to collect it. But when she visited PICA two days later, on January 17, the passport was not released.
RIGHTS BREACHED
In her constitutional claim, Thompson is asking the Supreme Court to declare that her rights under sections 13(3)(h), (n), and (r), and Section 16 of the Constitution were breached; to award damages for the constitutional violations; and to order PICA to immediately return the passport to her attorneys, among other remedies.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms guarantees several individual protections. Section 13(3)(h) protects against inhumane or inequitable treatment by public authorities; Section 13(3)(n) affirms a citizen’s right to be granted a passport and not be deprived of it except by due process; and Section 13(3)(r), along with Section 16, assures the right to fair and timely hearings before an impartial court.
Thompson says she has suffered significant embarrassment, inconvenience, and financial loss due to the ordeal, including forfeited airfare, hotel expenses, and medical costs arising from her removal from the plane in full view of other passengers.
“The claimant has not been treated fairly by PICA and has not been afforded due process to justify the continued detention of the passport,” the court documents argue, further describing the agency’s conduct as arbitrary and lacking any lawful cause.
No charges have been laid against Thompson in relation to the incident.
Thompson is being represented by King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and attorney Neco Pagon.