US: 102 Dominicans among 1.4M facing deportation under President Trump’s new immigration policies

As much as 102 Dominicans may be affected in the ongoing deportation exercises from the United States of America as the newly elected President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants continues. 

This has resulted in fear and uncertainty among immigrant communities in the United States as authorities move forward with a large-scale deportation plan. This comes after President Trump promised the American people that all the undocumented individuals will be sent back.  

Notably, as of November 24, 2024, there are 1,445,549 non-citizens on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) non-detained list with final orders of removal. The list has been topped by Mexico with 252,044 immigrants while El Salvador nationals stand 2nd with population of 203,822 in America. 

While releasing the list, ICE said that it is working to remove undocumented non-citizens from the USA once they are subject to final orders of removal in a timely manner.  

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">ICE and <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> remove foreign nationals – according to U.S. law – who lack a lawful basis to stay in the United States. This policy applies to all noncitizens regardless of nationality ▶️<a href="https://t.co/CMBQODjGin">https://t.co/CMBQODjGin</a> <br><br>Know the laws. Don’t risk your life only to be sent back. <a href="https://t.co/ZZVHVaipBU">pic.twitter.com/ZZVHVaipBU</a></p>&mdash; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov/status/1764637710818414886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Titled “Noncitizens on the ICE Non-Detained Docket with Final Orders of Removal by Country of Citizenship”, the list shows Jamaica at the top of the list from Caribbean region facing the most deportation, with 5,120, while British Virgin Islands has only 5.  

Other Caribbean nations include Guyana with 1,236 deportees; Trinidad and Tobago have 1,197 followed by Belize with 899, Bahamas with 426, Saint Lucia with 202, Barbados with 151, Grenada with 149, St Vincent and the Grenadines with 127, Antigua and Barbuda with 110, Dominica with 102 and St Kitts and Nevis with 68.  

ICE added that the US government believes every nation is obligated to accept the return of its nationals and citizens who are ineligible to remain in the United States and noted that lack of cooperation from the foreign government delays, and in several cases, inhibits the removal process.  

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The report also describes the difficulties ICE encounters when carrying out removals, including as logistical challenges, legal protections (such as asylum or deferral of removal), and non-cooperation from some foreign governments.  

Additionally, it identifies countries as "at risk of non-compliance" or "uncooperative" according to how ready they are to take in deportees. 

Since President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, ICE has arrested over 3500 unauthorised immigrants from across the US. Not only this, but the Trump administration has also started to send deportation flights using US military aircraft carrying migrants to their countries of origin or even third nations.