New York, USA — Immigration attorneys in New York are again warning Jamaicans who qualify to apply for United States citizenship about the serious consequences of incarceration even for the simplest infractions.

The advice and warning was a recurring theme among a panel of attorneys and others who spoke at a recent one-day forum here which focused on the issue of incarceration, its consequences, and how some laws and conventions pertaining to deportation are being upended as the Trump Administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration in the US.

The annually held forum was organised by the Ex-Correctional Officers Association of Jamaica and the North Bronx Seventh-day Adventist Church to promote awareness about the consequences of imprisonment and the impact it can and does have on many young people in particular.

Immigration attorney Shane R Brown told attendees that statistics show that 1.9-million people are currently incarcerated in prisons and jails in the US, making it the country “with the largest population of incarcerated people in the world”.

In addition, Brown said the state of New York has one of the highest rate of incarceration in the country, with an average daily population of over 16,000 people. He noted that while the average count of people incarcerated in the state in 2024 stood at 6,358 only 543 were sentenced. He attributed this to factors such as “mandatory sentencing laws, the war on drugs and systematic racial disparities”.

“African American and Hispanic individuals are disproportionately represented in the prison population compared to their share of the general population,” he said. Noting that the financial cost of incarceration at both the state and federal levels is over US$80 billion annually, the attorney advised his audience to “seek legal council in the event you run afoul of the law for any reason”.

Another immigration attorney, Maurice Maitland, who specialises in social security matters, highlighted the various ways minor offences are being treated in the current deportation proceedings, adding that traffic stops, disorderly conduct, shoplifting for any amount, and the use of marijuana, even where legal, can now result in serious charges.

“While the use of marijuana is legal in various quantities in some states, it remains illegal at the federal level. It is important that you take the time to arm yourself with the facts on what your rights are if you are approached by law enforcement officers,” Maitland advised.

Well-known social worker Carmeta Alburus told the forum that “a lack of supervision on the part of some of our Jamaican parents are to be blamed for many of their children falling through the cracks and ending up in the criminal justice system”.

“These children are vulnerable to the system and need added attention when they are brought from Jamaica to the US,” said Alburus, who heads the Family Unification Resettlement Initiative (FURI), a non-profit body designed to assist Jamaicans resettle after deportation.

“There has been an increase in the number of Jamaicans who have been deported in recent months, as the number of deportation flights have doubled from one to two flights monthly. It is important that every effort is taken by us to avoid getting on the wrong side of the law,” said Albarus.

Urging those who qualify to become US citizens to begin the process without delay, Queens-based immigration attorney Winston Tucker said that the qualification for becoming a citizen is already becoming more complex as at least 30 additional questions have been added to the application form, while the number of questions that can be asked during the interview process has also been increased.

In an interview afterwards with the Jamaica Observer, Tucker said that there is a notable reluctance on the part of many Green Card holders (permanent residents) who qualify to apply for citizenship to do so — a direct result, he argued, of the current atmosphere surrounding immigration matters in the US.

He lauded other permanent residents who are using the opportunity to apply for citizenship before other changes to the application process become effective, stressing that the benefits of citizenship included the opportunity to participate in the country’s decision-making process by voting.

In his address to the forum, the president of the Ex-Correctional Officers Association Ronnie Hammick said: “Too many of our young people — and others as well — are ruining their lives and future by committing acts that lead to incarceration.

“We in this association believe that it is incumbent upon us as individuals, as a community, as an organisation, along with the Church, to do whatever we can to reverse this trend,” Hammick added, emphasising the theme of the forum — ‘Incarceration hurts, avoid it’ — and the emotional and financial strain which come with incarceration.

Social worker Carmeta Albarus at the podium

Immigration attorney Shane R Brown speaking at the incarceration forum