The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported 11 St. Kitts and Nevis nationals from the United States for fiscal year 2019, a decrease of 26 % compared to 2018.
ICE is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, principally responsible for immigration enforcement.
According to the ICE 2019 Enforcement and Removal Operations Report released Monday, the number of St. Kitts and Nevis nationals deported this year is down from 15 in 2018.
ICE removals include removals and returns initiated by ICE and those initiated by other agencies in which aliens were turned over for repatriation efforts. Returns include Voluntary Returns, Voluntary Departures, and Withdrawals Under Docket Control.
St. Kitts and Nevis had the lowest number of deportees of the larger OECS countries. Only two of those countries had an increase in the number of nationals repatriated, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which went from 13 in 2018 to 19 this year, and Grenada which saw an increase from 9 to 13.
St. Lucia had 22 deportees compared to 28 in 2018, Dominica went from 19 to 16 and Antigua had a 50 decrease, going from 24 in 2018 to 12 in 2019.
The ICE report does not specify the reasons for individual deportations except in the cases of known or suspected gang members and known or suspected terrorists.