The Jamaican Deportees: We Are Displaced, Desperate, Damaged, Rich, Resourceful or Dangerous. Who Am I?

by Brown, Charlie

• ISBN13: 9781467040358
• ISBN10: 1467040355
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-01-05
• Publisher: Author Solutions

Summary

This book is about the effect of U.S. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act (IIRIRA of 1996) and criminal deportation to Jamaica, the issues associated with deportees resettlement and re-integration, and increased crime and violence in Jamaica which the police and several policy-makers claimed deportees are responsible for. It also represents a dedicated attempt to bridge both lines of inquiry between increased criminal deportation and increased crime and violence in Jamaica, wherein criminal deportees are constantly being blamed for the high murder rate in the country. Based on six years of studies, I find that there are two types of criminal deported migrants and over seven different categories of us and I write in details about the categories. A number of them are unreformed or dangerous and are involved in criminal activities, while the majority are law abiding citizens. Quite a few have tertiary degrees and meaningful skills and experiences and can contribute to the society, but they are highly marginalized. I write about the issues that we faced, the problems that some have caused, and how I was abducted or unlawfully arrested, wrongfully prosecuted, unlawfully convicted, sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and then wrongfully deported to Jamaica-even though I am a veteran of the US Army with a service-connected injury. A 'must read' edition.

Excerpts

To every cause there is an effect. In this chapter, I respectfully ask that people pay close attention to some serious issues regarding to criminal deportation, the alarming and fluctuating crime figures, and some of the social problems that are associated with crime and deportation. Deportation has been going on for a while, but since of late, criminal deportation has become a serious problem to the Government of Jamaica (GOJ). The process involves two countries, a remover and a receiver. As a receiving country, it appears as if Jamaica has become a dumping ground for deported migrants based on my assessment.
Although this book is exclusively about U.S. deportation practices, based on several economic reasons, the United Kingdom (UK) has increased its deportation figures. As a result; and in addition to the deported persons arriving from the United States and Canada, criminal deportation has become a divisive issue or a serious problem to the GOJ and the society. According to Government statistics, the United States of America is responsible for the majority of the over 40, 372 Jamaicans who have been deported to Jamaica since 1996, up to 2010.
In 2009, 1, 630 Jamaicans were deported from the United States. Of the amount, 1, 262 were criminal deportations and 368 non-criminal, making Jamaica the country with the seventh-highest number of deportations out of 220 nations. (Source: ICE). In 2010, statistics from the ICE showed that of the 1, 548 Jamaicans who were deported, 1, 225 were deported for criminal offences and 323 were deported for non-criminal offences.
According to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), "The number of persons deported to Jamaica for the fiscal year 2007/2008 totaled 3, 132. Of those deported, 2, 636 were males. The U.S.A and UK accounted for the highest number of deported migrants with 46% and 26 % respectively". 3, 076 persons were deported to Jamaica in 2009. The NIB is an investigative arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) that coordinates all intelligence activities and conducts strategic assessment on the nature and extent of crime in the country for the purpose of advising the policy-makers. The NIB operates like the Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI).
Based on population quota, Jamaica receives the highest amount of deported migrants from the United States as a result of the aggressive and unrelenting enforcement of the IIRIRA. The law is designed in such a way that it prevents most non-U.S. citizens who has been convicted of `deportable' crimes or sentence to terms of imprisonment categorized as `aggravated felony' and those that receive `removal orders' from fighting back and become successful --even if there is merit to some of the cases.
The law created drastic changes requiring automatic deportation for people who have committed or those who have been convicted of a wide variety of crimes --even after they have served their time in prisons or remand centers and have become productive law-abiding permanent residents. Even an INS official (now ICE) have criticized the IIRIRA, "As a law that went too far and eliminated discretion in cases where it is indisputably warranted and resulted in the deportation of longtime permanent residents that has a devastating effect on families."
While living in Florida for many years and abide by the law, one of my greatest fear was to go to prison although I was not a wrongdoer. Nonetheless, because the prison system is a business in Florida, and it appears as if there is a calculated decision to blemish mostly black people or African-Americans in the `Sunshine State', in such an environment, it is very easy for a black man to be incarcerated. And I watch such a happening unfold right before my eyes.
Like I have mention in previous writings, I was incarcerated from September 2000 --January 2004. I, like many others, have been moved around to nine different locations during the incarceration. According to King Solomon, "There is nothing new under the Sun" --Book of Ecclesiastes. And I know that half of the Bible is filled with stories of prisoners. As an example, some parts of the Bible were written by a prisoner, Paul the Apostle, who had been incarcerated for some time.
From personal experience, I know that when a man is incarcerated alone he is forced to come to terms with himself and with the Creator --if he chooses, and with the reality of his life presented right before him. I believe that in such a situation, people tend to do a reality check. Because of the forty months of direct incarceration, I had a good chance at fighting back at the judicial system in trying to prevent the ICE from carrying out the act of removal or deportation.
Through the process, it gives me great displeasure to reflect upon the problems that unfold in trying to escape the unforgiving and inescapable consequences of the IIRIRA.
In trying to escape, I familiarized myself with the full details in regards to criminal deportation. Through the process, I conducted a concentrated study which involves a full examination and analysis into the root cause of deportation from America. Such a happening is based upon the existence of a combination of U.S. immigration and criminal justice policies towards convicted non-U.S. citizens. These circumstances affected non U.S. citizens the most:
· The Congressional passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and its amended and retroactive sections.