London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Plans to build detention centre as illegal immigrants break the bank

Plans to build detention centre as illegal immigrants break the bank

The government will be looking to build a detention centre to temporarily hold illegal immigrants that are captured while the territory seeks to deport them to their native country.
While speaking at a press conference last Friday, Minister Vincent Wheatley said housing illegal immigrants has been a burden for the government over the years and they hope to offset that cost by building the detention facility.

The Immigration Minister said the government has spent nearly half a million dollars this year alone trying to repatriate illegal immigrants. He did not state if money was allocated for the project or give a specific timeline towards the commencement or completion of this facility as he noted the country has been strapped for cash because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“One of the things that we hope to do is to build a detention centre. Because once you have illegal immigrants here, there’s no place to put them. We have to be forced to use hotels and private security. It is incredibly expensive because God forbid, they end up in court or have medical issues. In fact, two of the persons who were found on Wednesday [November 24] ended up in the hospital. In trying to escape, they broke their legs. That’s an additional expense on the country. It has cost the country too much money,” Wheatley said.

Wheatley also acknowledged that illegal immigration has been a widespread and concerning issue in the BVI for years and the government is trying its best to have the issue dealt with. He used the same issue happening in the United Kingdom as a backdrop for what the territory faces.

“The issue of migration is a serious problem. We have seen in the news a few days ago where 27 persons have drowned trying to cross over from France into the UK. Just like Europe and the UK, the borders [Virgin Islands’ borders] are very porous. It is incredibly difficult to patrol our waters here between BVI from any outside countries. Whether it be St Maarten, St Kitts or our neighbours; it’s a very challenging thing to do. We will try our best to minimize persons coming in,” the Immigration Minister said.

Meanwhile, Premier Andrew Fahie said the issue of illegal immigration is something that was discussed extensively at the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) between the British Overseas Territories (OT) in the UK earlier this month.

He noted most of the OTs, especially Turks and Caicos, have also expressed their concerns about the abundance of illegal immigrants entering their territory.

“It’s something the whole Caribbean is experiencing more and more and it’s going to take a unified front to deal with it. Hence why I call for the introduction of a coast guard team that I’ll be following up and that has, I’d say, met the task of approval from the governor and together he and I will be working towards how we can bring this to fruition. So, we can even have our people serving in the coast guard,” the Premier said.

Last week, it was reported that two Haitian men escaped custody. The information provided was that the men were being held at Hotel Castle Maria in Tortola and were being guarded by a private security company contracted by the government.

This is at least the second time within the last month as in late October, four Haitian detainees escaped the custody of Immigration while being held at a quarantine facility.

The Minister said he could not confirm if the fugitives were recaptured but he noted after the incident occurred, the police captured about 15 additional illegal immigrants the following day.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×