‘Dem mek me feel like I am a criminal’, says Jamaican man refused entry to Mexico
· The Gleaner“Dem mek me feel like I am a criminal,” declared Jamaican Tarrick Hamilton who says he faced mistreatment and harsh conditions after being denied entry by immigration in Mexico.
It was Hamilton's first time travelling outside of Jamaica and he was eager to experience Cancun, Mexico's world-famous tourist destination.
“Just wanted to get an experience of this great hotel wah me hear so much bout,” said the 42-year-old Portland resident.
Hamilton and another family member left Jamaica on November 29 for an eight-day stay at one of the RIU Resort hotel in Cancun, an all-inclusive vacation paid for by relatives in the United States.
However, his vacation quickly turned into a nightmare.
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Passport and mobile phone confiscated
He recounted that shortly after landing in Mexico, his passport and mobile phone were confiscated by immigration authorities amid initial enquiries about his name and reason for entering that country.
Hamilton has no US visa and acknowledged that he could not find his itinerary showing that he was scheduled to return to Jamaica on December 7.
“I asked for some Wi-Fi and they didn't give me any 'cause I could get the date from by sister-in-law',” he told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
The tickets were purchased by his sister-in-law.
"Not even water to drink"
Hamilton said immigration personnel placed him in a room and indicated that they were going to verify the information he provided.
According to him, they returned more than two hours later and indicated, after a brief interview, that he would be denied entry into Mexico.
The Portland man said he was placed in a room he described as “prison” without water or food.
“It has no window, one door and dem lock the grille from outside,” he said, describing the heavily-tinted glass structure located inside the airport.
Hamilton said about 12:45 p.m. the following day, November 30, he and the family member he was travelling with were placed on a flight destined for Jamaica.
“It wasn't until dem put we pan the plane before we could a get water, drinks or anything. It was on the plane we got all a dat. For the entire time that we were there we got not even a drink a water, much less something to eat.”
Hamilton is among scores of Jamaicans who have complained in a slew of videos posted on social media platforms recently claiming that they were mistreated by immigration authorities in Mexico before they were denied entry.
More Jamaicans turned back
The Portland man said he was aware of 17 other Jamaicans who were denied entry and returned to their homeland on the November 30 flight
“They actually treated us like we are criminals. Dem mek me feel like I am a criminal. Nobody nuh suppose to deal wid no human being so,” he said.
Hamilton acknowledged that he has not yet filed a complaint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jamaica, but said he plans to do so soon.
Jamaica's Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith indicated on Monday that her ministry could make enquiries into “complaints of rights infringements”.
She was responding to a message posted on X, formerly Twitter, by senior journalist Karen Madden who highlighted the plight of two Jamaicans who were part of a large group who were denied entry into Mexico last weekend.
In 2022, the Mexican government toughened its immigration processes related to Jamaicans amid growing concerns over an illegal “human-smuggling” corridor to the US southern border.
The development caused increased scrutiny on travellers on bona fide business or leisure trips as Jamaicans with criminal records or other red flags pay thousands of US dollars for safe passage into Mexico.
Data provided by Mexican immigration authorities reveal a drastic increase in the number of travellers from Jamaica.
In 2020, a total of 4,467 Jamaicans travelled to Mexico.
A year later, arrivals surged to 7,509, an increase of 68 per cent.
For the first three months of 2022, a total of 2,929 Jamaicans travelled to the North American country.
- Livern Barrett
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