Turks and Caicos Islands Premier Charles Washington Misick, second from right, attends a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force on October 30, 2023. TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS GOVERNMENT
THE WATCH
The Turks and Caicos Islands has taken another step toward fielding a fully operational border-control agency to meet the increasing threats posed by illegal immigration and other challenges.
The Ministry of Immigration and Border Services launched the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force (TCIBF) on October 30, 2023, with a plan to gradually integrate customs, immigration and its work-permit unit into a unified and intelligence-driven force, according to a November 3 report in the Turks and Caicos Weekly News.
The plan entered a new phase on January 25, 2024, with the unveiling of a facility to house the TCIBF and customer-service unit in Bottle Creek on the island of North Caicos, according to a January 26 story by the newspaper.
“It’s been a while coming, but North and Middle Caicos, it’s here,” Minister of Immigration and Border Services (MIBS)Arlington Musgrove said of the new office during an opening ceremony attended by employees and residents, according to the Turks and Caicos Weekly News. Officials said the facility will house all MIBS departments — including an office for the minister — and give residents better access to immigration services while also enhancing national security.
The government plans the launch of all other TCIBF units in 2024 before ultimately introducing “digital borders,” a system that will include “automation for low-risk travelers” and “biometrics to drive security,” according to the Turks and Caicos Weekly News. The economy of the Turks and Caicos Islands, which is a British Overseas Territory, relies heavily on tourism. In 2023, the country had more than 1.5 million airline and cruise visitors, according to Breaking Travel News.
The government’s commitment to using intelligence and technology to secure its borders will also be employed to tackle illegal immigration. Musgrove said in February 2023 that there has been a “significant surge” in undocumented Haitians trying to enter the Turks and Caicos Islands, where many of the 40,000 residents are of Haitian descent, according to a story in the Miami Herald newspaper.
The Turks and Caicos Islands is a key security partner — along with the Bahamas — of the United States in the northern Caribbean. Both countries are in U.S. Northern Command’s area of responsibility in the region. The three countries work together on maritime security through Operation Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. The decades-old trilateral agreement is a combined partnership involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and law enforcement in the Bahamas and TCI to combat drug and human smuggling and other transnational crime, according to a March 16, 2023, news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Officials said the new facility on North Caicos will expand the reach of the TCIBF.“This strategic location will serve as a vital hub for our border force operations, enabling us to effectively monitor and protect our borders,” Minister of Health Shaun Malcolm said, according to the Turks and Caicos Weekly News.