ALTHOUGH REFUSING to reveal exact numbers, the United States Government has stepped up its deportation of Caribbean immigrants. The deportations are being coordinated through the Customs Enforcement Detention and Removal Offices. Over the past four months, immigration officers have nabbed a large number of Caribbean-born nationals in raids across the country. Most of these immigrants have been deported for violations ranging from being in the country illegally, to ignoring deportation orders, and re-entering the country illegally after deportation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said the raids were aimed at promoting "public safety and national security by ensuring all aliens who are subject to deportation are removed as expeditiously as possible." ICE officials in Florida said since the start of the year, many Caribbean nationals were among the 1,617 immigrants deported. STRAIN ON REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS The number of Caribbean nationals deported is putting a strain on regional governments. Last month, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, called for a regional approach to dealing with the issue. Manning, who has responsibility for regional security in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said there was need to revisit the premise for negotiations with the deporting countries. During a recent visit to New York, Dwyer Astaphan, St. Kitts and Nevis' National Security Minister, said there was need for a 'paradigm shift' in Washington's relations with the Caribbean, from one that is viewed as 'incidental' to 'strategic'. "We don't want anybody to give us anything for free, but we believe that it is in America's strategic interest to ensure that certain things do or do not happen," he said. In Jamaica, law enforcement authorities are blaming the 'new face of crime' on increased deportation from the U.S. Just last month, 40 deportees, some of whom are reportedly hardened criminals, arrived in Jamaica on a special charter flight from the U.S. state of Louisiana. HARDENED CRIMINALS "There is no doubt that we are going to have serious problems with some of these deportees," said Assistant Commissioner of Police George Williams, commenting on the latest group to arrive. At least 1,206 persons have been deported to Jamaica since the start of the year. Last year, more than 4,200 persons were sent home after completing sentences in prisons in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com