(Jamaica Observer) KINGSTON, Jamaica — A Jamaican man living in Britain for 52 years has been threatened with deportation in what’s being described as the latest instance of heavy-handed treatment by the Home Office.
According to UK media reports, 60-year-old Anthony Bryan arrived in Britain when he was eight and has lived in the country ever since, going to primary and secondary schools, working and paying taxes as a painter and decorator, and helping to bring up his children and seven grandchildren.
Despite that, he was sent to an immigration detention centre and booked by Home Office staff on a flight back to Jamaica, where he hasn’t returned since leaving.
However, a last minute intervention by an immigration lawyer resulted in him missing the flight and he was released from the detention centre last week.
It was also reported that his situation remains uncertain and he’s been left dumbfounded by his treatment by the Home Office.
“I feel they could have treated me better than this after I’ve been here 52 years,” said Bryan in an interview with the Guardian newspaper.
The Home Office, however, said that Bryan was “not currently subject to removal action”, adding that he had failed so far to provide the necessary evidence to show a lawful right to remain there.
Bryan’s case is the latest in a series of people who have been threatened with deportation despite living in Britain for the best part of half a century.
Last month, Paulette Wilson, 61, also a Jamaican, was almost booted out the country despite living in the UK for nearly 50 years.
