Jamaicans at home and overseas are in a frenzy due to the recent immigration orders issued by United States President Donald Trump
However; the Jamaican Government yesterday advised “We just need to be calm. We will be having discussions with our international partners to have all the concerns addressed. We don’t want any panic because there have been no definitive actions taken of which Jamaica is directly impacted,” Education and Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Reid stated that the government “will be acting on behalf of all its citizens to protect their interest. Just give us some time to speak to all our partners to sort through the issues”.
Foreign Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith also encouraged Jamaicans to remain calm in light of recent events in the United States.
“It is very important in these matters that we remain calm and responsible. It is extremely unhelpful that people are inciting panic on matters that are very complex and very technical and subject to a lot of uncertainty, even in the issuing State,” Johnson Smith said in a release last evening.
“The ministry is making every effort to ascertain the scope of these orders, and it is important that we not conflate them, because there is more than one order and they deal with entirely different things. I would ask the Jamaican community overseas and public to remain calm and to be assured that the ministry is examining these issues.
“We are in contact with the US embassy here, and we are in contact with the State Department overseas through our missions there. As soon as we are clear on the advice we can give to the public on any impact on the Jamaican community, we will do so. Please be assured that we are monitoring these issues closely with your interest at heart,” said the Jamaican foreign minister.
Meanwhile, Hanna, in her release, said: “The president of the United States has signed a raft of executive orders directing the operations of federal agencies on a range of issues. Mr Trump’s order on immigration has attracted significant international attention as it purports to significantly restrict access to visas and other benefits traditionally afforded by the US Government. One such benefit is the J1 visa programme.”
The Opposition spokesperson said she found it “surprising that the Jamaican Government has not sought to give this matter as many of the young people were unaware of the possible impact the immigration order could have on their plans to travel and work overseas.
The executive order, ‘Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States’, which has been the centre of global outcry since Friday, restricts immigration from seven Muslim countries and suspends all refugee admission to the United States for 120 days.
Green card holders, or permanent residents of the US, have been urged to seek legal advice before travelling out of the country.
