140% spike in deportees to Jamaica last year

SIXTY of the 1,317 people deported to Jamaica in 2025 were convicted of murder, manslaughter or attempted murder in the deporting country, with 52 of them being sent from the United States.

One was deported from Canada, five from England, and two from ‘other’ countries.

The information is outlined in the 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

It listed 171 of the deportees having possession of drugs convictions, with a significant majority – 142 – coming from the USA. Two were deported from Canada, three from England, while 24 were sent back from other countries.

The 2025 list of deportees also included 134 people convicted for the serious offences of wounding, assault and battery.

The US again topped the list of these deportees with 115.

The sexual offences category listed 63 deportees last year, with the US sending back 50, Canada four, England five, while four came from other countries.

However for the vast majority of deportees, 610 were sent back to Jamaica for immigration violations including illegal entry, overstay of visa, and illegal re-entry.

There were 95 deportees convicted of firearm offences, with 88 running afoul of the law in the US. Other offences on the list included larceny, fraud/false document, kidnapping, and money laundering.

Of the total 1,317 deportees in 2025, 967 came from the US, which has a set policy of deporting Jamaicans to their homeland on the last Thursday of each month.

Last year saw Jamaica also receiving 70 deportees from Canada, 25 from England, and 255 from other countries.

The total represents a 140 per cent increase when compared to the 547 who were returned to Jamaica in 2024.

In May, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said approximately 2,500 Jamaicans have been confirmed for deportation from the US this year.

Johnson Smith provided the update while speaking at a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister as she moved to dismiss reports that some 4,000 Jamaicans are set to be deported from the US as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“Allow me to be clear that 4,000 Jamaicans are not being returned now. For some time it has been in the public domain that the US authorities had close to 4,000 persons in their records with final orders for deportation against their names. It is now our understanding that approximately 2,500 have been confirmed for removal over a period of time, to be determined by logistics, their own legal processes, and other factors,” said Johnson Smith.

She pointed out that the deportation of Jamaicans is not a new phenomenon, and said the Government remains committed to honouring its international obligations to receive its citizens while safeguarding national security and public safety.

“It is not a new phenomenon. For decades, Jamaica has facilitated the repatriation of its citizens under established international arrangements. We receive our citizens when they are returned to us. Just as we expect, and we do, repatriate foreign nationals who commit serious crimes or breaches of our immigration laws,” added Johnson Smith.

The foreign affairs minister further pointed out that the Government has expanded the National Reintegration and Rehabilitation Strategy to coordinate reintegration services for the deportees.

“On May 5th, Cabinet approved the establishment of a National Technical Working Group on Voluntary and Involuntary Migrants, recognising that not only is the grouping not homogeneous in and of itself, but we now have a sub-grouping of those who are returning of their own motion — determining the circumstances in the US to not be where they wish to remain — and those who are being returned, those who have the decision made for them. This technical group is chaired by the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Oversight is provided by the ministries of national security and foreign affairs and foreign trade; and the technical group comprises several ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as civil society partners.

“Its mandate is to coordinate reintegration services and to ensure that returnees are supported in a structured, sustainable manner — and this includes their reception, verification, health checks, security, vetting, and access to social and legal support where necessary,” Johnson Smith said as she sought to allay fears about the possible security threats the deportees might bring.

“Monitoring and detention measures are in place [and] they will be applied. Again, stakeholders play key roles in helping us as partners in this reintegration and return process,” declared Johnson Smith.

Meanwhile, the PIOJ also reported that the total number of voluntary returned migrants stood at 852 in 2025, an increase of 52.1 per cent when compared with the 560 who returned home in 2024.

Voluntary returned migrants are people who choose to return to their homeland.