UK — Mark Nelson was arrested last Thursday while reporting to the Home Office, where he was informed of immediate plans to deport him to Jamaica. Nelson, 46, is currently detained in a detention center near Heathrow Airport.

Nelson arrived in the UK in 2000 and has established a car mechanic business. He has five children who are British citizens and a partner who is also a British citizen. In 2017, Nelson received a four-year prison sentence for growing cannabis plants. He stated he cultivated the plants after his business experienced financial problems. He has not committed any further offenses since his 2017 conviction.

Nelson's removal from the UK had been canceled previously. Since then, he has been required to wear an electronic tag and report weekly to a Home Office reporting center. Nelson stated that Jamaica is a place where he no longer knows anyone, as his great-grandparents, who were his last familial connection there, died when he was 16.

Nelson described his current conditions in detention, stating, "I'm in a hot and filthy cell on the induction wing. My mental health is so bad because of what the Home Office has done to me. For the first time in my life, I have taken antidepressant medication." He also said, "I love my kids so much, and I can't bear to think of them being without my dad." His partner, Rachel Derbyshire, also expressed concerns. "It seems that the Home Office is not going to let this go. Mark's mental health is really bad because of this. He's a really lovely guy, but the Home Office is treating him as if he was a rapist or a murderer," Derbyshire said.