Jamaica Security Ministry says deportees will be reintegrated, rehabilitated

The security ministry says all deportees – whom it referred to as involuntary returned migrants (IRM) – will be provided with support to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration into society through its IRM Project.

In a release yesterday, the ministry said that through the project the capacity of service providers, such as non-government organisations, has been improved to ensure that those IRMs who are not received by family and friends are adequately supported with food, shelter, clothing, employment and education opportunities.

Said the ministry: “Since the establishment of the programme in 2008, significant strides have been made to streamline the processing of various categories of involuntary persons from the point of reception to reintegration. This includes success in a more efficient processing and identity verification of IRMs and the issuance of official national identification.

It added that another initiative under way is a partnership between the Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and the Cities Alliance, through the United Nations Development Programme.

The partnership seeks to strengthen migration policies, legislative and institutional frameworks that guide the management and treatment of IRMs in the country.

The initiative is part of a broader programme embedded in the ministry's Five Pillar Crime Reduction Strategy with a specific focus on the “Rehabilitation and Redemption Pillar”, in keeping with Vision 2030 Jamaica.