Jamaican Pastor Deported: A 64-year-old Jamaican pastor has been deported by the United States to Eswatini under the US government’s third-country nationals agreement.
Pastor Junior Alves was among 11 people deported to the southern African nation on Wednesday. He is the second Jamaican sent to Eswatini by the United States under the arrangement.
According to family members, Alves has no criminal conviction in the United States. He had been allowed to remain in the country after being granted protection under the Convention Against Torture in 2016, which required him to report annually to US immigration authorities.
Alves was reportedly taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at his home on January 11 and remained in detention until his deportation on Wednesday.
His removal comes as the United States expands its use of third-country deportations under the Trump administration.
According to an AFP report, Eswatini has received 19 deportees from the United States since July 2025. Two of those individuals—a Jamaican and a Cambodian—have since been repatriated, while 17 remain in a high-security prison without charge.
Reports indicate that Eswatini received approximately US$5.1 million from the United States to accept deportees and has agreed to receive up to 160 individuals in exchange for funding to strengthen its border and migration management systems.
Jamaica has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States allowing third-country nationals transferred from the US to transit through Jamaica on their way to their final destination.
80-Year-Old St Catherine Man Found Dead with Severe Head Injuries
