KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government Wednesday warned nationals against the involvement in illegal migration as it noted a “relatively small number” of Jamaicans pursuing illegal migration by traveling through Mexico, Panama, and Belize.
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, told the weekly post-Cabinet news conference that Jamaicans should not attempt to enter a foreign country illegally.
“I am confident that the majority of our travelers to these locations are lawful and traveling for legitimate purposes,” Johnson Smith told reporters, adding, “We are very concerned that Jamaicans are taking decisions to travel in precarious circumstances and, some cases taking children with them, exposing them to dangerous situations including kidnapping, trafficking, and even death.
“I know some of you would read in a particular publication this morning that Panama and the US governments are taking steps to tighten patrols and movement through a specific routing they have identified as a route for illegal migrants.
“We are trying to be proactive and remind Jamaicans that this is not a good decision to take. It is hazardous for you. Personally, it also affects the reputation of our passport, which we have been working hard at strengthening,” she said.
Johnson Smith told reporters that data received from Mexico and Panama and validated by the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) show that 143 Jamaicans were refused entry in Mexico between 2018 and March 31 this year.
“In the case of Panama, for the same period, 2,167 Jamaicans were refused entry, and 81 Jamaicans were deported,” she said, noting that it is unclear whether the data from Panama included persons who attempted to travel to Mexico through the country since there are no direct flights to Mexico from Jamaica.
Statistics from Belize are still pending validation from PICA. Still, last week, Belizean officials said an estimated 1 673 Jamaicans had entered the country through the Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (PGIA)since January 2022.
“To date, of that 1, 673 we’ve had some 788 depart through one of our legal border crossings, leaving some 895 Jamaicans who have not exited through our northern border point of exit or any other of our formal border points,” the officials noted.
Johnson Smith said that illegal entry affects the reputation of the Jamaican passport, despite the Government’s efforts to increase its security to facilitate better citizens who want to exercise their right of freedom of movement.
“Decisions like this, they do fight against the efforts of the Government, and they do affect the reputation of the passport and the immigration experience of our lawful travelers,” she said, noting that the Government continues to consult at different levels with its partners in Belize, Mexico, and Panama on the matter.
“We do not want the immigration experience of our lawful travelers to get worse. We want our athletes, entrepreneurs, family members, ordinary Jamaicans exercising their right to travel, to do so without difficulty, in comfort, and with dignity, and part of that [requires] our fellow citizens taking sound decisions about traveling lawfully,” Johnson Smith told reporters.
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