Roadtown, Tortola - Chief Immigration Officer Mr. Dennis Jennings has welcomed the formation of a Regional Heads of Immigration Association.

Formalised during a recent meeting in the Cayman Islands, the association is expected to help facilitate better communication among the territories involved.

Mr. Jennings told the Department of Information and Public Relations, the aim is to “build capacity and capability to enhance our ability to provide better security for our borders and intelligence gathering and sharing.”

He cited communication as an important tool in combating illegal migration, which is a growing problem for the BVI and other overseas territories. “Unless we communicate and talk to each other, we are not going to be in the best position to secure our borders.”

Noting the common problems faced by overseas territories. Mr. Jennings identified information sharing as one of the keys to tackling the problem going forward. “We also understand that we are faced with similar problems in this region; the same people who come in illegally in one jurisdiction, also go illegally into other jurisdictions. It is best for us to share intelligence and information so that we can better deal with these matters.”

In essence, he added, “we can be proactive as opposed to being reactive.”
Another benefit identified by Mr. Jennings is familiarity with immigration personnel from different jurisdictions. With annual conferences planned, he noted that members will also be made aware of changes in the management personnel in other jurisdictions.

The association comprises primarily of immigration chiefs from the British Overseas Territories but also has participation from Jamaica and the Bahamas.

The Cayman Islands by virtue of being the lead country in the establishment of the Regional Heads of Immigration Association, will chair the organisation initially. The Bahamas will serve as the Deputy Chairman.

At the Cayman Islands meeting where the association was formed, delegates also discussed the latest trends and developments in border control from a United Kingdom perspective.

While these initiatives may not apply entirely to the Caribbean, Mr. Jennings believes there are some areas that can be used “like fingerprinting to ensure that when we have repeat perpetrators, we are able to easily detect them.” Noting that it is not always possible to obtain facial evidence, Mr. Jennings said “we can always use fingerprints and try to determine whether or not people were in fact here before as perpetrators.”

The Chief Immigration Officer also stated that he gained some insight into the Cayman Islands Immigration Ordinance and here too he noted some initiatives that the Territory may be able to adopt to enhance its own immigration policy.

Immigration issues, particularly the protection of country borders have been gaining significance for the Virgin Islands and many other Caribbean Governments because globalisation and the accompanying ease of travel together with the global economic downturn have made illegal migration a growing problem.