From riding around with passports in their cars to shying away from public gatherings, the day-to-day movements of some Jamaicans in the United States have changed following the re-election of President Donald Trump.

Trump, who was inaugurated almost a year ago on January 21, 2025, after a decisive victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, had campaigned heavily on border politics, promising voters a crackdown on illegal immigration into the country.

Since then, the Republican president has made good on his word, further empowering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and even going as far as defending the controversial fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis this week as possibly self-defence.

The hostile attitude toward immigration has impacted Jamaicans and other immigrants no matter their status, according to Irwine Clare, the chief operations officer at Caribbean Immigrant Services in Queens, New York, noting that there has been a noticeable shift in the way immigrants are treated.

“We do have a Congress that is anti-immigrant… as a result of that, the sentiment that flows from the authorities is one of aggression,” he explained.

“As it relates to how people are faring, there is now a general tendency not to participate or go places, because there is a possibility that within that congregation, you could be intercepted,” Clare continued. “I could even say to you that probably the population in church has declined. And that is usually the best bellwether indicator to say to you what is really taking place.”

US President Donald Trump wears his trademark MAGA hat at a campaign rally at Lancaster Airport on November 3, 2024 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. (Photo: AFP)

Having helped over a quarter of a million immigrants to follow due process to regularise themselves through his company, Clare is well versed on immigration issues.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is support for immigration, but the kind of consensus and aggressive support is not as potent as it used to be prior to the present president coming into office,” Clare said.

He said the behavioral changes among Jamaicans in the US are noticeable in even sanctuary cities like New York.

“We still want to get our patties, still want to get a curry goat and oxtail etc. But I think now when we go out, and I say we because I’m cognisant of it too, you know, you kind of pay attention to where you are,” he said. “Yeah, they’re partying. But I’m certain that there’s some people who aren’t partying because of that reason, and those who are partying are very selective in where they go.

“We have heard of ICE vehicles just passing by an event just to cause fear,” he continued, adding “sometimes White Plains Road, which is popular for Jamaicans, every now and then, the ICE vehicle just passes up there on the road, and you’d think it’s Thanksgiving [because] everybody’s inside.”

Radio personality and chairman of the Jamaica Diaspora Crime Intervention and Prevention Task Force, Dr Rupert Francis, who has resided in the United States for over 26 years, said while the social scene was not dead or even dying, an air of caution was noticeable.

Irwine Clare, chief operations officer at Caribbean Immigrant Services

“Oh yes, of course, some people are hiding, some people are being more careful, not [gathering] drinking rum again at night, they’re not doing that,” Francis said. “When they used to maybe drive a little harder, they slow down, and many people I know drive around with their passports.

“People are being more careful, they don’t want to get in any problem with anybody,” he added.

Francis also pointed to noticeable changes in the overseas travel patterns among Jamaican immigrants.

“Some people are scared, if you look at the amount of Jamaicans coming back to Jamaica during December, apart from Melissa, the [airport] would be full, you could hardly get into Jamaica. Now, it’s not so. Why? Because they don’t want to come with their green cards or whatever, and then they cannot come back,” Francis said.

According to Clare, overseas travel was being approached with some amount of caution, citing new rules regarding green cards, including the Laken Riley Act, passed soon after President Trump was inaugurated, which allows for the arrest and detention of non-citizens, including green card holders who commit certain crimes, without bail until their immigration proceedings are heard.

Previously, the law mainly mandated detention for serious offences such as drug and firearm crimes and human trafficking. The Laken Riley Act expanded those crimes to include misdemeanors such as shoplifting and burglary.

Green card holders who applied to become citizens and were denied and have not yet regularised themselves may also face difficulties while travelling internationally, Clare explained.

Dr Rupert Francis speaking at a demonstration in the United States.

The tension has affected some immigrant run businesses, according to New York City Council Candidate for District 41 – Brooklyn, Lawman Lynch.

“From a financial perspective, many businesses previously relied on more affordable labour to offset the extremely high cost of operating in New York City. This is particularly true within Jamaican and broader Caribbean communities, which play a dominant role in the city’s food and restaurant industries,” he explained.

Citing heightened enforcement visibility and reports of ICE activity, Lynch, who has lived in New York for over 15 years, said business owners have become far more cautious about hiring individuals who are not authorised to work in the United States.

“Informal or “under-the-table” employment, while never without risk, is especially precarious in the current climate. Even when such arrangements exist, both employers and workers operate under heightened anxiety,” he said.

Lynch further said, “Socially, there is also a noticeable chilling effect. Restaurants, clubs, and other communal spaces are approached with caution. Earlier this year, while organising an immigrant resource fair, one of the most common concerns expressed by prospective attendees was whether ICE might appear. That level of fear underscores the broader impact on community life.”

Clare said his company no longer holds events like community forums discussing status regularisation, describing it as potentially leading lambs to the slaughter.

Francis sees collaboration with government and even entering government as a better path to change than protesting.

“I do believe that the United States is one of the greatest places on earth, there’s a reason why everybody wants to come here, we have to be prepared to live by the rules, at the same time we have to make the place more user-friendly.”