The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica has taken note of the decision by the U.S Authorities relating to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.
6000 Jamaicans impacted
The Ministry is mindful that approximately 6000 of Jamaican nationals are included among those who will be impacted by this decision. In a statement, the ministry indicated it is the government’s sincere hope that the U.S Congress will be able to reach a timely consensus on this matter. Such a positive outcome would afford these young Jamaicans involved the opportunity to remain legally in the United States, the country they have come to call home for many years, and in which they wish to apply their acquired skills.
Jamaican Embassy In US monitoring
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith advised that the Ministry, through its Jamaican Embassy in Washington D.C., has been actively monitoring the developments relating to DACA.
She explained that “the Embassy has been using diplomatic channels to sensitize persons who are part of the decision-making process of the benefits of the program to the young people concerned on the one hand, and on the other hand, the potential adverse socio-economic implications of any decision taken to remove these young nationals.”
In these engagements, emphasis is also placed on the impact that such an adverse decision would have on curtailing the desire and ability of these youngsters to become outstanding citizens of the United States.
The Ministry affirmed that through the Embassy, it will continue its sensitization and advocacy on behalf of the young Dreamers of Jamaican descent, as it seeks a favorable outcome from the deliberations of the US Congress.
