Sharon Brown
Sharon Brown is part of the 150 member delegation visiting from the Unites States. She was born and raised in Kingston, but has been living in Florida for the past 30 years. She is currently studying U.S. Immigration Law in Florida.
Miss. Brown has a great interest in immigration issues and hopes to help find solutions to some of the immigration problems plaguing Jamaicans living abroad. She is in Jamaica for the Diaspora Conference to do just that.
"Deportees are a big issue for Jamaica. We must create a structure for the people who are deported to Jamaica. They cannot just be sent home blindly. We have to start thinking of training programmes and social initiatives to address this issue. Crime is perhaps Jamaica's biggest problem, and it's no secret that deportees are often involved. That's why we must look at this issue seriously," Miss Brown said.
Of the debate on immigration policy reform now taking place in the U.S., Miss Brown was clear on the outcome she would like to see.
"I would love a policy that allows persons who have been living in the U.S. for a long time to be given work authorisation. It's the only way to go. If this doesn't happen then they will be creating two classes of people and this won't be good at all," she said.
