KINGSTON – Jamaica’s government says two of the three Jamaican nationals recently deported by the United States to Eswatini have formally rejected offers to return home to the Caribbean island.
In a statement issued late Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Jamaican authorities were continuing efforts to make contact with the third citizen.
“During the discussion, the men were advised of the consular assistance available to them and of the government’s readiness to facilitate their return to Jamaica,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Officials also told the two men that Jamaican authorities “could not determine their immigration status in the United States or secure their return there. Both men maintained that they did not wish to return to Jamaica.”
The ministry said contact was made through the Jamaican Consulate in Miami and a legal adviser representing the men, whose names have not been released.
Jamaica’s intervention came after diplomatic queries were raised with U.S. officials in Washington and formal representations were made to the government of Eswatini through Jamaica’s diplomatic mission in Pretoria, South Africa.
The U.S. government’s increasing use of third-country deportations, including removals to Eswatini, has drawn sharp criticism from attorneys and human rights organizations.
Eswatini is a small kingdom bordering South Africa, ruled by a monarch with absolute power who has faced accusations of suppressing pro-democracy movements.
Orville Etoria, who was the first Jamaican national sent to Eswatini under the program, was repatriated to his country last September.
His lawyers have accused the U.S. of deporting him unlawfully there in July 2025 and said that he and others were repeatedly denied visits by a lawyer.
Etoria was repatriated with help from the International Organization for Migration, or IOM, a U.N. agency.
