- Jason and Jennifer Grogg along with their four children have now been deported
- The deportation came after the family brought weapons onto the small island
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Sherma Dalrymple, has defended the decision to deport a missionary and his family from the United States, saying their “continued stay in Dominica would have been detrimental and unlawful and as such not in the public’s interest”.
Dalrymple said Jason Grogg and his dependents were deemed prohibited immigrants in accordance with the Immigration and Passport Act.
“The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution understands that this situation has sparked public questions and debate,” the DPP said, adding that the repatriation of the Grogg family “was legal and the procedures employed by the police were fair and just”.
She said Grogg was convicted of “serious firearms offences” and that the entire family members “were not regularised under the immigration laws of Dominica and Jason Grogg had several Customs charges related to firearm and evasion of Customs duties before the court”.
Earlier this month, Dalrymple issued a “notice of discontinuance” to the court ending all matters involving the state and Grogg.
Grogg, who was arrested last year on gun and ammunition-related offenses and pleaded guilty to the charges, was deported along with his family on March 6.
Jason and Jennifer Grogg and their two teen daughters were taken into custody on April 17, 2023, when authorities found the gun and ammunition inside the 40-foot shipping container the family used to store their belongings.
After seven days in jail, Jason pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm without a license and paid an EC$9,250 fine to secure the release of his wife and daughters.
The charges against his wife and daughters were all dismissed.
Jason, however, insisted that the officials only uncovered “some miscellaneous ammunition” and a handgun that he planned to secure a permit.
On May 4, last year, he was arrested at the Douglas Charles Airport and remanded at the State’s prison. A High Court Judge eventually granted him bail of EC$50,000.00 despite objections from the prosecution.
Grogg had also taken to social media claiming that the State was using “delaying tactics” in his matter and vowed to take “civil action against the State”.
In her statement, the DPP said Dominica has the right “to cause an individual and his dependents, not belonging to the state to leave the state…on economic ground or on account of standards or habits of life to be undesirable inhabitants, which is what was considered in this matter.
“The continued stay of Jason Grogg and his dependents in the Commonwealth of Dominica would indeed have been detrimental and unlawful and as such not in the public’s interes,” the DPP added.
Meanwhile, Grogg has vowed to return to Dominica saying it is the will of God.
He told the Dominica News Online publication that “everything I own is in Dominica.
“So why would I leave that? I am going to fight for my right, for my children, our library with 3,000 books in a shipping container that has been held hostage by Customs for almost a year now. Dominica is our new home. While we may be US citizens, the United States is no longer my home. I was working towards citizenship.”
“And even though a lot of people see this as something to them would appear as if God is saying, well no you can’t do that, you don’t want to be there. But if that was the case then clearly, it would have required all of my belongings to be brought back.
“At the same time, it would have been very clear legally that we were truly deported under criminal auspices and we were not. My lawyers still do not have, after over a week now, my lawyers still do not have any paperwork saying that the customs case has been dropped nor do we have any deportation paperwork nor do I have my passport.
“So if it was really God’s will or intent for me to be back in the United States then Dominica would have done it in a way that is legal and right and whole. They would have allowed my family to move off the island in a way that would allow us to live our lives elsewhere,” he said, adding “if it was not God’s will for me not to be back in Dominica, then I would have no recourse”.
