Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica can expect even more deportation of more nationals in the coming months, as the Biden administration has been ramping up arrests at United States-controlled borders.

This has been particularly pronounced since President Joe Biden lifted the pandemic-era border restriction known as Title 42 in May.

Jamaicans have increasingly been caught attempting to cross the US-Mexico border, with several being deported to their homeland; with the latest action from the US federal government indicating that more deportations can be expected.

Data from the Department of Homeland Security show that about 85,000 migrants from different countries have been “repatriated” since Title 42 was lifted, which is up 65 per cent higher over last year, which saw 51,246 migrants deported.

During the same period the previous year, there were 33,087 repatriations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Harlingen field office director, Miguel Vergara, told NBC News, “the department is sending a clear message about the consequences of coming to the United States and seeking asylum improperly.”

Toughening immigration stance

An indication of this was evident Wednesday morning when more than 100 migrants — mostly women and children were repatriated to Honduras. These flights are operated by the aptly named ICE Air, a programme that charters multiple planes each week from several states to send migrants back to their home countries.  

In spite of this, more migrant crossings are being classified as legal because migrants are scheduling screening appointments at ports of entry on a mobile app with the number of migrant families with children crossing the southern border nearly tripling in the past two months. This has raised concerns of yet another overall uptick in crossings.

“Our approach of expanding lawful pathways for people to reach the border and delivering consequences for those who arrive at our border irregularly is working,” Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said Wednesday in testifying before the House Judiciary Committee. But his assurances were met with skepticism from Republican lawmakers, many of whom called for his impeachment declaring he has not done his job.

Mayorkas testimony

Mayorkas’ testimony came a day after a federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s new, stricter asylum policy, which supporters had cited as a key factor in reducing the number of illegal border crossings. The Biden administration insists the immigration process is now more orderly but critics say that the drop in illegal crossings is misleading, and that migrants have instead been pushed to ports of entry and are now just being classified differently.

Migrants are now required to schedule screening appointments using the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) ‘one mobile app’, which has drawn criticism and complaints that it was frustrating to use. The app was updated in May and more appointments were added.

According to a senior CBP official, federal authorities are now booking 1,450 appointments daily across the southern border. That compares to 300-400 a day during the early 2010s, the official said, adding that an extra 500 CBP officers have been sent to the southern border to support expanded processing efforts.

The CBP official said most migrants were getting appointments within eight weeks but some migrants give a different story, as they struggle to apply for asylum.