Jamaican Youth Strikes Out in America, Looks for Advice

New York, N.Y. I woke up this morning to the following message: “Blessings, Sir Jim! This is William from the University of the West Indies (in Jamaica). I have been living here in Mississippi since 2021 under some friends’ advice. However, my situation has changed dramatically in ways I never perceived could happen. The friends that told me to come and stay with them turned out to not have my best interest at heart. It took me two years to find that out. Since last October I’ve been trying to figure things myself, which has been tremendously hard for me. I have been in so much debt financially because I wasn’t working for a period. In January I had two speeding tickets I was unable to pay, and they placed me on a payment plan. However, I missed my payment and the court date and thus a bench warrant was issued for me. On June 30, police came to my apartment and arrested me. They didn’t inform they had a warrant out for me. Instead, they immediately preceded to trash my apartment looking for weed, that they didn’t find. They eventually brought me in to the police station and held me for a night. I paid my bond in the morning and the case was dismissed. However, they called ICE on me and now I have a date to meet with them on August 7th. At this point Sir Luce, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be deported back to Jamaica. I have no home, nor no avenue to start over. I’m reaching out because you are the only person I think may be able to give me advice on going forward.”

After a cup of coffee and some reflection, I responded: “William, I am glad to hear from you but saddened by the circumstances. You are a fine, upstanding young man and it sounds like you have managed to get yourself into some trouble.

First, I am not an attorney and I believe your best bet is to contact your local immigration agency or legal aid office and request legal assistance.

It sounds like you have overstayed in the U.S. with what perhaps is a tourist visa? If that is the case, I am unsure why you never perceived bad things could happen. I am sorry to hear your friends turned out to not have your best interests at heart. I have lived overseas in many different countries and if it weren’t for friends around the world, I would never have survived. I can only imagine the pain and difficulty if they turned out unhelpful.

America seems to be the land of opportunity from afar, but life here for newly arrived immigrants can be very difficult. Many Americans live but one paycheck away from being evicted, so I understand how ‘not working for a period’ could really mess up your finances. Wow, that’s rough. And then two speeding tickets? William, that’s not cool. Yes, if you miss your payments in that situation, you will have a serious problem – as you discovered.

Okay, so the cops came, saw nothing but a Jamaican man and assumed you had weed. They trashed your place, which sadly I believe they are allowed to if they ‘suspect illegal activity.’ They took you to the police station and held you overnight. How frightening – but at least you now have an interesting story to tell. You then paid a bond in the morning and ‘got-out-of-jail,’ the case was dismissed.

However, they called ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement– on you and you received a ‘Call in Letter’ from Homeland Security for August 7th. So now, as you know, this is very serious.

William, you have to think about what you really want at this point your life? Do you really not want to go back to Jamaica? I think you are right, they hope to deport you, although again, I am not an attorney and am not giving you advice, just looking at the situation.

It seems you have several options: You can return to Kingston on your own before the meeting. Or you could go to the meeting and see what happens, with deportation the probable outcome.

Other people might go underground, say to a Jamaican-rich place like Brooklyn or Florida, or go somewhere with no Jamaicans at all, off the radar. Say, New Hampshire, or Idaho. I am not suggesting that, but others might.

At any rate, William, I am so sorry to hear of your challenges in our country and wish there was something I could do to assist you. Sadly, there is not much of anything I can do to help. I do, however, wish you the best if luck on whatever path you may travel. Stay in touch. – Jim”

In 2022, The U.S. Homeland Security deported 1.2 million non-citizens from the United States.

Jamaican Youth Strikes Out in America, Looks for Advice (July 20, 2024)