KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Observer has confirmed that a Jamaican, 64-year-old Pastor Junior Alves, was among 11 people deported to Eswatini by the United States (US) on Wednesday.

He is the second Jamaican sent to Eswatini by the US in recent times under its third-country nationals agreement.

Family members told Observer Online that Alves has no criminal conviction in the US but was allowed to live in that country, having been granted stay under the Convention Against Torture in 2016.

Under that agreement, he was required to report to US immigration authorities annually.

He was picked up at home by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on January 11 and remained in detention until Wednesday, when he was among 11 people deported to Eswatini.

His deportation comes as the United States expands its use of third-country removals under the Trump administration. According to an AFP report, Eswatini has already received 19 deportees since July 2025. Two of them — a Jamaican and a Cambodian — have been repatriated, but 17 remain in a high-security prison, held without charge.

Eswatini reportedly confirmed last year that it had received around US$5.1 million from America to accept the deportees.

Eswatini has reportedly agreed to take 160 deportees in exchange for funds to strengthen its border and migration management capacity.

Jamaica has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the US that will provide for third-country nationals transferred from the US to transit through Jamaica to their final destination.