Posts Tagged Jamaicans Fleeing America

Tough economy, stricter enforcement of immigration policies trigger return home
BY INGRID BROWN Observer senior reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

BECKFORD... If the crime rate was 50 per cent lower a lot of people would return home.

Scores of Jamaicans are believed to be among the 1.7 million illegal immigrants in the United States who have opted to return home in the last two years, rather than endure the harsh realities of a tough American economy and stricter enforcement of immigration policies.

According to the US Centre for Immigration Studies (CIS), the population of undocumented persons in the United States declined by some 14 per cent or 1.7 million people between the summer of 2007 and spring of 2009.

Analyzing Census Bureau data, researchers Steven Camarota and Karen Jensenius calculate that the number of immigrants entering the USA illegally has fallen by one-third, while the number returning home has more than doubled.

“Both increased immigration enforcement and the recession seem to explain this decline,” they report.

But so far there are no clear cut figures as to how many Jamaicans are choosing this route, since persons turning up at the two international airports on the island are not required to declare what their status was in the country from which they are arriving.

However, those closely connected to the migrant communities in New York, one of the largest settlements of Jamaicans in the US, say there is an ever increasing number of our citizens who are falling into this category.

Dr Basil Wilson, dean of criminal justice at Monroe College and former provost and senior vice-president of academic affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, said navigating the US system as an illegal immigrant has become much harder, forcing many to give up their American dream.

File photo of Brooklyn, New York where Jamaicans are said to be homeless and living in shelters, especially those who are illegal and cannot benefit from state support.

Although certain sectors, such as restaurants and hotels, depend largely on immigrant labour, stringent measures imposed by the federal government have made it much more difficult for illegal immigrants to find employment.

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