Jermaine Thomas grew up thinking he was as American as anyone else. Born in 1986 on a U.S. Army base in West Germany to a U.S. citizen father who served nearly two decades, he moved to the States at a young age, bounced between homes in Washington and Texas, and spent most of his adult life in Killeen.
But now, he’s stranded in Jamaica, a country he’s never been to, with no legal citizenship from anywhere. And it all started with a misdemeanor arrest over a dog in his front yard.
Ten years ago, Thomas was at the center of a Supreme Court case arguing whether kids born abroad on U.S. military bases should automatically be citizens. The court didn’t side with him. Now, that decision is haunting him in real life.
After being evicted in Killeen, Texas, Thomas was outside moving his belongings when police showed up and questioned him over his dog, Miss Sassy Pants. When he refused to show ID without knowing what crime he’d committed, officers arrested him for trespassing. That one charge, a minor misdemeanor, sent him into a downward spiral that ended with him on a deportation flight out of the country.
Thomas spent 30 days in jail then found himself in ICE custody. He was transferred between multiple detention centers, where he says no one understood the details of his case. A deportation officer allegedly told him his situation was “unique” and had to be handled out of Washington D.C.
He says he went months without clear answers. “If I don’t get a release date or see a judge, that’s pretty much a life sentence,” Thomas said from a hotel room in Kingston. “You’re detaining me without a country and without a plan.”
Eventually, he was put on a plane to Jamaica. He had never been there. His father, who died in 2010 from kidney failure, was born there but became a U.S. citizen. Jermaine never claimed Jamaican citizenship and doesn’t know if he’s legally allowed to be there now.
Tanya Campbell, another deportee on the flight, said Jermaine was shackled and surrounded by officers as if he were a fugitive. She described the flight as a “walk of shame” for him. Even ICE officers admitted there were problems, with one allegedly saying he didn’t have proper records for half of the people on board.
Now stuck in Kingston, Jermaine has no work, no money, and no way to understand locals who speak in heavy Patois. He doesn’t know who is paying for his hotel room or how long he can stay. He’s uncertain if he’ll ever return to the only country he’s ever really known.
“If your father puts his life on the line for the U.S. Army, and then the country turns around and kicks his child out after he dies, how do you justify that?” Thomas asked.
His story brings light to a rarely discussed issue — children born abroad to American military parents who don’t qualify for automatic citizenship. Jermaine fell through a legal crack that most people didn’t know existed until it was too late.
He isn’t just stateless — he’s proof that even serving your country doesn’t guarantee your family will be protected.
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