Each year, thousands of Jamaican farmers and hospitality workers arrive in the United States to fill critical labour gaps. They bring discipline, resilience, and the kind of institutional memory that spans generations. But once they land, they are not left to figure it out alone.

Liaison officers from the Jamaica Central Labour Organisation (JCLO) meet them where they are, literally and figuratively.

They respond to emergencies. Navigate legal systems. Negotiate with employers. Arrange hospital visits. Intervene in conflicts. Repatriate the dead with dignity. Track down missing pay. Sit beside injured workers in unfamiliar hospitals. And sometimes, they just listen.

“Our job doesn’t come with a script,” said Karlene Brown, a JCLO officer based in Washington, D.C., responsible for more than 800 workers across six states. “It’s diplomacy. It’s social work. It’s logistics. It’s all of it.”

The Liaison Officer model is unique to Jamaica. No other country participating in the U.S. H-2A or H-2B programs provides this level of embedded, in-country support. Employers regularly cite it as the reason they choose Jamaica again and again.

“Other countries send workers. Jamaica sends a system,” said one Vermont-based farm manager. “If there’s a problem, I know exactly who to call.”

The system is not accidental. It is the result of decades of institutional design, driven by the principle that sending labour without support is not just risky. It is unethical.

Officers are trained in labour law, mediation, crisis responses, and international coordination. Many, like Kareeme Morrison, bring backgrounds in workforce development and social protection. Morrison, who covers five Midwest states, says the job is as much about foresight as it is about response.

“You have to see problems before they become problems. And when things do happen, you can’t afford to be hard to reach,” he said.

For others, the work is deeply personal. Sheldon Brown, Senior Liaison Officer, has been doing it for over two decades, across more than 25 U.S. states. “Our job is to make sure things run smoothly and to make sure the welfare of the worker is protected, but also that the employer is pleased with the entire labour force that they have selected from Jamaica”

While most public attention focuses on departure ceremonies and arrival photos, the hard, daily work of support happens in the background. Late-night phone calls. Mid-season check-ins. Quiet interventions no one hears about.

It is this presence, predictable, responsive, and deeply informed, that underpins Jamaica’s reputation abroad. The system is not perfect. But it is human, accountable, and evolving.

Meet the Liasion Officers & their assigned areas:

• Karlene Brown –  Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia
• Nora Smikle-Dryden – Western New York and Maine
• Kareeme Morrison – Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, and Wisconsin
• Norris Colley – New York Region
• Sheldon Brown – Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington
• Kandre Leveridge – Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire

For more details about our liaison officers, click here.