The Jamaican government has confirmed that two of its citizens, recently deported by the United States to the African kingdom of Eswatini, have formally turned down offers to return to their home country.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced late Thursday that officials were still working to make contact with a third Jamaican national who was also sent to Eswatini by U.S. authorities.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Jamaican representatives informed the two men about the consular support available to them and made clear that the government was prepared to arrange their return. “During the discussion, the men were advised of the consular assistance available to them and of the government’s readiness to facilitate their return to Jamaica,” the ministry stated.
The government also told the men that officials “could not determine their immigration status in the United States or secure their return there. Both men maintained that they did not wish to return to Jamaica.”
Communication with the two unidentified men was made possible through the Jamaican Consulate in Miami and a legal adviser who represents them.
Jamaica’s efforts came after the country reached out diplomatically to U.S. officials in Washington and also formally contacted Eswatini’s government through Jamaica’s diplomatic mission located in Pretoria, South Africa.
The U.S. practice of sending deportees to countries other than their home nations — including Eswatini — has drawn sharp criticism from attorneys and human rights advocates.
Eswatini is a small kingdom that shares a border with South Africa. The country’s king holds absolute authority and has faced accusations of suppressing pro-democracy movements within the nation.
A Jamaican man named Orville Etoria, identified as the first Jamaican national sent to Eswatini under this program, was returned to Jamaica last September. His legal team has accused U.S. authorities of unlawfully deporting him to Eswatini in July 2025 and says that he and others were repeatedly denied access to an attorney while detained there. Etoria’s return was made possible with assistance from the International Organization for Migration, known as IOM, which is a United Nations agency.
