A total of 61 foreign nationals have been subject to deportation or exclusion from the Cayman Islands since 1 January, 2008 due to convictions on various offences.  

The deportation records were made public following a Freedom of Information request made by the Caymanian Compass.

According to the Immigration Department, 28 people were deported – forcibly removed from the Islands – in 2008; 21 people were deported in 2009 and so far this year two people have faced deportation.

The most common reason for deportation over the past two years was importation of drugs (11 deportations), followed by nine deportations for illegal landings, five for possession of controlled drugs, four for theft, three for overstaying, and three for fraud.

A number of other criminal offences led to the deportation of foreign nationals in Cayman over the past two years including: forgery, firearms possession and importation, using irregular passports, rape, burglary, indecent assault, and attempted murder.

There was even one deportation in a murder case, which would be considered rare since murder typically carries a life sentence in the Cayman Islands. Those sentences can be shortened or commuted by the governor.

Not all deportations occur immediately, according to immigration officials. Some of those don’t happen until a sentence is served and a prisoner is released from custody.

Of the 51 deportees since January 2008, 32 were Jamaican – roughly 63 per cent of the deportations to occur.

For the rest, six were Hondurans, four were Filipinos, two were from Nicaragua, two were from the Dominican Republic, and one deportee a piece hailed from the US, Canada, Guyana, Cuba, and Venezuela.

The Compass requested deportation records going back to 2005, but was told that the Immigration Department was not in possession of those records. The request was forwarded to the deputy governor’s office to see if officials there might obtain the records.

In addition to the deportations, there were a total of 10 Exclusion Orders issued by the Cayman Islands in 2009 and for this year.

Exclusion orders are somewhat rare in that they are generally issued in the case of individuals who are not residing in Cayman. Deportation orders accomplish the same purpose but they would be served directly on someone who resides here and has been forced to leave because of a criminal conviction, for instance.

An exclusion order could also be used to prevent those who are considered undesirables from visiting the Cayman Islands; someone who had a criminal conviction in another jurisdiction, for example.

In 2009, there were nine foreign nationals who received exclusion orders from the governor’s office; four Jamaicans, three Americans, one Canadian and one Nigerian. So far in 2010, there has been just one issued against an American.

The specific circumstances of each individual’s case were not known, but a few were excluded from returning to the Islands because of criminal drugs or forgery offences.

Earlier this year, a second-year medical school student – John Michael Piernatti - admitted in court to making three false documents and using two of them to obtain anti-anxiety medication. The other forged prescription was for birth control pills for a female student.

Robert Carlton Brown pleaded guilty in November 2008 to uttering (using) a false document; allegedly changing bank drafts for $50 and $20 to much higher amounts. His exclusion order was issued in February 2009.

Also banned from the Cayman Islands last February were cruise ship passengers Ronald Emanuel and Matthew Marmaros. The two men were fined for possessing illegal drugs for personal use.  

The circumstances of the other six individuals’ exclusion in 2009 were not immediately clear.