News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, WEDS. Jan. 29, 2025: Jamaican immigrants are among hundreds already nabbed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents around the country as Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy kicked into action in nationally.
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In Florida, Miami and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami field offices reported that Jamaican national was recently arrested in Broward County, Florida by officers. He faces multiple charges, including possession of oxycodone, display of a firearm during a felony offense, and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license. In Philadelphia, another national was nabbed due to a marijuana conviction from decades ago. He faces deportation back to Jamaica sources told News Americas today. Authorities have not yet released the identity of the two Jamaican nationals, and it remains unclear if the individuals have sought legal representation.
Meanwhile, a Jamaican citizen in New York, was also nabbed recently. Jamaican national, Kamaro Denver Haye, was arrested for “promoting a sexual performance by a child less than 17 years of age and possessing sexual performance by child less than 16 years of age.” And in Hartford, Connecticut, Sanjay Sivan Walsh was arrested by ICE after being released from Connecticut prison. He served time for sexually assaulting two children and tampering with evidence on Dec. 17th. The 28-year-old man served a 21-month sentence at Enfield’s Willard -Cybulski Correctional Institution. Walsh remains in ERO custody pending immigration proceedings. The cases underscore the complexities faced by immigrants in the United States, particularly those with pending criminal charges.
ICE reported over 969 single-day arrests on Tuesday, January 28th.
Ironically, the New York Post quoted Evelyn Brown, 80, a Bronx resident from Jamaica who voted for Trump as cheering on ICE saying: “Take the damn bad ones away!” “Get them the hell off the street! Get them the hell out of the street so people don’t have to walk in fear. Take the damn bad ones away!”
ICE officials reported that the arrest was part of their ongoing efforts to ensure community safety by targeting individuals involved in criminal activities. The arrest highlights the intersection of immigration enforcement and criminal law, raising concerns within the local immigrant community about increased scrutiny and potential deportations.
The Laken Riley Act
The news comes as Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law today expanding the scope of those who can be arrested, detained and deported by federal immigration officers.
The bill is the first of Trump’s second presidency to become law and it comes at a time when he is promising stricter enforcement of immigration laws and increased deterrents to legal migration. It passed with bipartisan support, marking a major shift for Democrats, who did not advance the legislation in the Senate last year. The measure mandates federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport individuals without legal status if they are charged with minor theft, shoplifting, assaulting a law enforcement officer, or crimes resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
While several criminal offenses are already grounds for deportation, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt emphasized Tuesday that entering the country illegally is itself a crime. However, critics argue that the bill bypasses due process by allowing deportation proceedings to begin before a conviction.
The legislation is named after a Georgia nursing student killed last year by a Venezuelan man who was in the U.S. without legal status. Her death became a focal point for Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s border policies. The perpetrator, José Ibarra, had prior shoplifting charges in New York and was later sentenced to life without parole. Republicans contend this law could have led to his earlier deportation and prevented her murder.
The Legal Aid Society said the new law “marks a cruel and dystopian turn in this country, where a teenager jumping the subway turnstile, or a parent arrested for stealing diapers, formula, or other necessities for their child, could face mandatory immigration detention with no opportunity for release, even if they are never convicted of a crime.”
“While this law purports to protect women and girls who suffered tragic violence like Ms. Riley, it is little more than a political vehicle to effectuate mass deportations and will result in harming many thousands of non-citizens who may themselves be survivors of gender-based violence.
“Moreover, immigration detention facilities are often hundreds or thousands of miles away from family and their communities, in jail-like conditions without the right to appointed counsel. Those detained can be incarcerated for months or years while litigating bona fide immigration claims. Their detention will destabilize the families and communities they leave behind. In many cases, non-citizens will not be afforded due process to resolve criminal charges in state court proceedings. This injustice should be an affront to citizens and non-citizens alike,” the statement added.
Christine Clarke, Chief of Litigation and Advocacy at Legal Services NYC, added: “We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of our immigrant clients and immigrant communities across New York City. This new law gives ICE increased powers to detain people merely because they have been arrested for (not convicted of) low-level offenses such as shoplifting. By not requiring someone have a conviction before being subject to potential ICE detention, the law leaves people at the mercy of individual law enforcement officers, who now have the power to subject someone to ICE detention merely by arresting them for a crime, raising concerns around the impact of racial profiling and bias by law enforcement.”
But Simon Hankinson, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, stated, “The Laken Riley Act shows Trump’s commitment to securing the border and restoring the rule of law. This law will help detain criminal aliens who pose a threat, making communities safer and preventing crimes by those who should not be here.”