Anthony Brown migrated from Jamaica to the United Kingdom (UK) in 1967 as a six year old child with his mother, two brothers and two sisters, to join his father recruited as a civil engineer. After returning to Jamaica in 1973 to finish secondary school at Jamaica College, Brown returned to the UK, reuniting with friends and family members who had remained. However, when applying for university in 1983, he was told by the Home Office that he wasn't British because his Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC) status had been revoked through the 1971 Immigration Act, as he had been out of the country for more than two years and that he should report to Manchester Airport to be deported.
When his story broke in the 1980s, Brown’s family, friends and community waged an “end deportation now” campaign by organising petitions, demonstrations, writing letters, eventually resulting in securing his status of ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’.
Brown was one of the first to be on the sharp end of Home Office policies that have, since the 1960’s, gradually been restricting the rights of Commonwealth citizens to live and work in the UK.
