2020 could be a record year for Marshallese deportations from the United States with at least 33 Marshallese in detention awaiting the opening of borders for deportation.
Marshall Islands Attorney- General, Richard Hickson, confirmed this is the number of Marshallese currently being held in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers in the United States, according to a report in the Marshall Islands Journal.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding 33 Marshall Islanders for deportation Photo: US ICE
The Marshall Islands closed its borders in early March due to Covid-19.
Hickson said US authorities had requested the 33 be given an exemption to return to the Marshalls.
But he said local authorities informed the US that the border remained closed until further notice because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
One Marshallese detainee recently died of health conditions related to Covid-19 while in ICE detention.
Since fiscal year 2020 began in October 2019, if Marshallese were deported during the five months the borders were open, between October and early March, then FY2020 deportations from the US could set an all-time record.
The highest number of deportations in one year is 35, which occurred in both FY2018 and FY2016.
A total of 202 Marshallese were deported from the US during the seven-year period from FY2013 to FY2019, an average of 29 per year.
Crimes for which Marshallese are deported include violence such as sexual assault and murder as well as fraud involving money theft or failing to appear for scheduled court hearings.
ICE normally issues its annual fiscal year report on deportations at the end of the calendar year.