Illegal immigrant robbed by taxi man

A Haitian man who entered the island illegally and said he intended to ask permission to stay was robbed by a taxi man shortly after arrival.

Levy Davidson, 24, pleaded guilty to illegal entry on his fourth court appearance in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday. He told the court, through an interpreter, that he came to Jamaica, seeking a better life. The court heard that on December 25, 2021, Davidson illegally entered the island and was found in Shooter's Hill, St Catherine, with no official documentation. Davidson told Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole-Montague that he arrived in the island via boat and had the intention to apply for permission to stay.

"However, he took a taxi [after arriving] and the taxi man stole his money and papers and left him," the interpreter told the judge. Upon request of the judge, one attorney, Courtney Foster, offered assistance to Davidson to explain the immigration laws that Davidson breached. Foster told the court that Davidson is the father of two children, ages four and one, and that his sole intention was to make a better life for himself in Jamaica by gaining employment.

"He understands that this is the fourth time he has been before a court. He advises me that he did not have any intention to waste the court's time but it was a matter that he did not understand the legal implications of his actions. So, now understood, Your Honour, he has now entered a plea of guilty," Foster submitted to the court. Foster asked the judge that in sentencing, if she could impose a fine as there is no record before the court to suggest that since Davidson's landing in Jamaica, he was involved in any criminal activity or breached any other law. Following the attorney's arguments, the prosecution requested deportation.

Cole-Montague imposed a fine of $5,000 or 30 days' imprisonment. She also cautioned that a warrant would be signed for his deportation to Haiti.