New US immigration crackdown sparks fresh fears

There are fresh jitters among Jamaicans illegally residing in the United States (US) as American authorities begin to lay the groundwork for a crackdown on hundreds of thousands of people who have overstayed visitor visas.

An ‘overstayer’ is defined by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a non-immigrant who was lawfully admitted into the US, but remained there beyond the authorised period of admission.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lists overstays in two categories: suspected in-country, or individuals for whom no departure was recorded, and out-of-country, or individuals whose departure was recorded after their authorised period of admission in the US.

Last Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem directed CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Citizenship and Immigration Services to ramp up a review of immigration records.

Noem warned, too, that the American authorities “will take immediate, appropriate actions to crackdown on visa overstays”.

The announcement followed the arrest of 45-year-old Mohammed Sabry Soliman for allegedly setting at least eight American citizens on fire in Boulder, Colorado, in what investigators believe was a terrorist attack.

Soliman is an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa in the US and remained in the country unlawfully since 2022.

For US fiscal year 2023, that runs from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, some 11,931 Jamaicans who travelled via air or sea for business or pleasure were listed as suspected in-country overstays, according to the latest DHS annual Entry/Exit Overstay Report for the 12-month period.

This is just over five per cent of the 233,668 individuals who were scheduled to return to Jamaica from the US over the 12-month period.

A total of 337 Jamaicans were listed as suspected out-of-country overstays.

NO NEW PROCESS YET

Irwin Clare, a Jamaican and co-founder of the New York-based Caribbean Immigration Services, said there is no indication yet what new processes DHS will employ as part of the new immigration crackdown.

“I don’t know what it will entail outside of them knocking on more doors, outside of them visiting more work sites… it comes down to whatever new tools they have,” he told The Gleaner on Friday.

ICE, DHS and other US law-enforcement agencies are already engaged in what officials there have described as the largest immigration crackdown in American history, repatriating approximately 65,682 people in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, which began in January.

Scores of people were arrested at courthouses, work sites and other places that were previously off limits.

However, Clare cautioned that overstayers living in the shadows who have not yet found ways to regularise themselves, are among the group that should be particularly nervous about Noem’s new directive.

“Dem come here 10 years ago and haven’t done anything to adjust their status. Dem still a wait pan Jesus fi come down and rescue dem … those people have reasons to be worried,” he cautioned.

“That’s the significant batch. And you will find, too, that’s the group that largely would be sending remittances [to Jamaica] who will now be cut off from sending home remittances legally,” Clare said, alluding to the financial impact on family members here.

Another group that should be nervous, he said, are those who illegally crossed US borders and are now seeking legal status through a relative.

Clare urged Jamaicans and other overstayers to explore all of their options to adjust their status and move quickly to start the process.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com