In an apparent reversal of an earlier agreement not to deport those who arrived in the UK as minors, plans are being made to deport a number of Jamaican nationals who came to the UK as children.
A charter aircraft to Jamaica is scheduled for August 11th, sending several dozen people to Jamaica, who had been deported due to criminal convictions. However, campaigners argue that removing those who have lived in the UK for their whole lives to a nation where they have no ties is unjust.
According to Jamaican high commissioner Seth Ramocan, the Home Office reached an arrangement with Jamaican officials last November not to deport children under the age of 12.
“They have agreed to an age restriction. Last year, he told news reporters, "It's a request that has been granted."
It's unclear whether this concession was provided exclusively for the last Jamaica deportation charter in December, when the trip was heavily criticized by the public, with Bernardine Evaristo, model Naomi Campbell, and historian David Olusoga among those who spoke out against it.
“They are British and know no other home.”
-Chrisann Jarrett, CEO, We Belong
We Belong, a youth-led organisation, in the UK, that campaigns for the rights of young immigrants has also shown its dissent at the decision of the UK Home Office.
CEO, Chrisann Jarrett told Powell & Barns Media that, "It is deeply concerning that the Home Office, despite previous promises, are going ahead with the deportation of 19 people who have spent nearly all their lives in the UK. They are British and know no other home. I acknowledge that a crime has been committed and they should indeed serve their time for their offences, but we are essentially uprooting people who are British, saying that their offences deem them undesirable to remain in the UK.”
She continued saying, “The current immigration system is unforgiving of those who have made mistakes and the chartered flight is a flagrant dismissal of the supposed value our system places on social integration. I hope that the Home Office could rethink its current position.”