His future on ICE
U.S., Jamaica both reject ex-con as citizen
Andrew Findley finished a 24year sentence in 2015 for dealing crack — and then his troubles really began.
The 44-year-old was taken into ICE custody after doing his time because the government believes he was born in Jamaica and should be deported due to his criminal record.
Findley, who says he spent most of his teens and adult life in Bridgeport, Conn., grew up believing he was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, making him an American citizen.
“The U.S. government claims that I was born in Jamaica, but I have no reason to think that is true, based on what my grandmother told me,” he said.
He was released last month after serving three years and three months in ICE custody, fighting deportation. But neither the U.S. nor Jamaica wants Findley, and he remains stuck in citizenship limbo.
The case highlights the challenges one faces when unable to prove something most people take for granted: where they were born.
“My grandmother always told me that I had been born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands,” Findley said in a sworn statement. “I grew up thinking, and continue to think, that I was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and that I am a U.S. citizen because that is what my grandmother told me.” He said he was raised by his grandmother in Jamaica and entered the U.S. with her as a teen.
He reached a deal with the Justice Department securing his release from Orange County Correctional Facility on Aug. 15.
“Because there was not a significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future, and ongoing litigation regarding his United States citizenship claim, Findley was released from ICE custody on an Order of Supervision, using GPS monitoring. He will continue to report to ICE, as required,” an ICE spokeswoman said.
Findley has an array of contradictory information about where he was born.
“For every documentary source stating that Mr. Findley was born in Jamaica, another states that he was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” his attorney Rajeev Muttreja writes in court papers.
One of his rap sheets listing his criminal record says he was born in Jamaica. Another, however, says he was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has a Social Security number that matches his full name, but not his birth date. In 2017, the Jamaican government said it had no record of Findley being born in Jamaica and refused to accept him from the U.S. A 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals case regarding his citizenship is ongoing.