Tuesday, November 24 – More than 100 illegal aliens have been detained in the Virgin Islands so far in 2009.
Revelation of this came today from Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE who is also the minister responsible for immigration as he responded to a question posed by Opposition Leader Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith in the House of Assembly.
According to the statistics provided to the House of Assembly by Premier O’Neal, the largest number of persons was detained in January, May and September. In each of those three months, 17 persons were detained.
In April, 16 persons were detained and 10 in July. March and October saw a total of eight persons being detained in each month, six each in June and August and three in February. For the month of November, six persons have so far been detained.
Honourable O’Neal further revealed that the majority of those detained are citizens of the Dominican Republic; that country recorded a total of 17 detainees here in the Territory. There were 13 each from Dominica and St. Lucia, 11 from Haiti and 10 from Brazil.
There were six detainees each from Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, five each from St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Panama and the United States of America.
Jamaicans accounted for four of the illegal aliens detained in the Territory, while there were three each from Grenada and Sri Lanka. Several countries have only had one illegal alien detained in the BVI which included Barbados, Canada, India, France, Honduras, Hungary, and Nigeria.
Seven of the 114 illegal aliens are currently detained at the Immigration Detention Centre, which has been operating around the clock since March 16, 2009. The estimated monthly cost of running the facility is $19,700.
In responding to the question posed by the Opposition Leader, Premier O’Neal noted that the total number of illegal aliens detained here includes persons who were refused entry into the Territory, as well as those legally admitted but who were subsequently arrested for immigration offences.
The Department of Immigration is the arm of Government responsible for ensuring that all non-belongers, meaning those who do not have a Certificate of Residence, Belonger Status or naturalised, entering the Virgin Islands qualify as desirable visitors. The department also seeks to ensure that the residency, employment and business activities of these same individuals are monitored, regulated and controlled.
British Virgin Islands News