111 S'poreans marked for deportation from US

The United States authorities have marked 111 Singaporeans for deportation since November 2024, the month when President Donald Trump was elected, which signalled the start of a tightening of immigration enforcement.

These individuals are among more than 1.44 million foreign nationals on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) non-detained docket -- people who have been issued deportation orders, but are not held by ICE as they may have been detained by other agencies for breaking the law.

The extensive list also showed that 435 Malaysians are being marked for deportation.

The vast majority affected come from Honduras (261,651), Mexico (252,044), and El Salvador (203,822).

The Trump administration has seemingly escalated immigration crackdowns by invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, last used during World War II to place Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants into internment camps.

Handful of Singaporeans deported annually

So far, three Singaporeans were deported from the U.S. between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sep. 30, 2024, the fiscal year 2024, according to the agency’s annual report published on Dec. 19.

In total, 22 Singaporeans were deported between fiscal years 2019 and 2024.

A total of 33 Malaysians were deported in the same period.

Who are on the ICE list?

The ICE list has about seven million individuals, The Straits Times reported.

These foreign nationals could be asylum seekers waiting for immigration proceedings, U.S. permanent residents who have been convicted of a crime, or those under a programme that require them to report to the authorities regularly.

Only about a fifth of the seven million people have got “final orders of removal” that will see them deported within 90 days of receiving the order, according to figures from November 2024.

However, a person can still remain in the U.S. if granted “relief from removal”, which prevents ICE from deporting them.

This applies to certain groups if people, such as asylum seekers or people who risk persecution and torture in their home countries if they return.

Foreign governments that do not cooperate with the U.S. can hinder the deportation process.

ICE classified 14 countries as uncooperative, such as Cuba, Russia, China and India.

Another 11 countries classified as at risk of not complying, include Jamaica, Iraq, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Guantanamo Bay to be used for more detentions?

President Trump said on Jan. 29 that he planned to detain "criminal illegal aliens" at the notorious Guantanamo Bay military prison used for holding terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks.

Trump made the shock announcement at the White House as he signed a bill allowing the pre-trial detention of undocumented migrants charged with theft and violent crime.

The Laken Riley Act is a new law that expands the mandatory detention of migrants to include non-citizens who are charged with burglary, larceny, theft or shoplifting.

The law is named after a 22-year-old nursing student, Laken Riley, who was murdered by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant.

The first group of migrant detainees were sent to Guantanamo Bay on Feb. 4.

Human rights activists have repeatedly condemned Guantanamo Bay for its harsh treatment of detainees, including the use of controversial interrogation methods.

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