A character reference written by a Jamaican university professor and former senator in support of dancehall artist Chronic Law is drawing scrutiny in Jamaica, months after it was submitted to a US immigration judge and as the artist now faces separate federal firearms charges.
The letter, dated January 20, 2026, was written by Professor Andre Horton and addressed to an immigration judge. In it, Horton described Akeem Campbell, known professionally as Chronic Law, as a cultural figure whose work has resonated with young people.
He wrote that Campbell had demonstrated maturity and a strong sense of responsibility toward his family and community, and went further to characterize him as a positive influence in a vulnerable social space.
What has drawn particular attention is how well Horton actually knows the artist. By his own admission, the relationship is limited. “I don’t know him that well,” Horton said. “
Remember their artist, they’re on the road up and down. I’m on the campus doing my thing. So, we will know them directly through the music per se as well as their associates.
Horton framed his decision to write the letter as an act of professional duty rather than personal familiarity. “As an educator, we deal with persons who are not necessarily the status quo per se, but have potential to contribute positively,” he said. So, that is why I felt the need to assist in that way as a Jamaican national.”
The immigration case that prompted the letter has since been resolved. Campbell was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in January.
Those proceedings were terminated in March after a judge determined he was not removable following the revocation of his O1B visa. But his legal troubles did not end there.
In July, Campbell was arrested in connection with an alleged incident during a November 2025 traffic stop in Georgia.
Federal prosecutors allege that officers recovered multiple firearms and 92 rounds of ammunition. The character reference predates those charges entirely and makes no reference to them.
Attorney Nadine Atkinson Flowers offered context on the practice of character references in immigration proceedings. “It is the norm that persons who have immigration cases seek good character reference from friends, family and or professionals with whom they have some kind of relationship,” she said.
Those individuals, she explained, write to the immigration judge to speak to what they know about the person and in what capacity they are doing so.
The legal explanation is straightforward. What the situation raises, however, is a broader question about the weight that professional reputation carries when it is lent to someone a writer barely knows personally, and what that means when more serious allegations follow.
Horton acknowledged the complexity without retreating from his position. I recognize the negative a person finds themselves in trouble and the persons are negative towards them and what they are going through,” he said. “But at the same time many of the situations how we observe them may or may not necessarily be how the situation is.”
His view is that the role of educators and public figures is to encourage uplift rather than pile on in difficult moments.
Whether that philosophy is sufficient justification for attaching one’s professional standing to a character reference for someone facing the level of legal scrutiny now surrounding Chronic Law is a question Jamaicans are actively debating.
