TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, CMC – The United Kingdom is being called on to provide more support to this British Overseas territory, particularly with funding for border security.
The call was made recently by Deputy Premier Lorna Smith, who acknowledged a recent supplementary budget allocation to address some of the territory’s urgent needs but emphasized that more support is necessary.
Smith highlighted the difficulties in securing the BVI’s borders, describing them as “very porous” and overwhelmed by illegal immigrants.
“What I think we should be asking for and insisting on is more support for our borders,” Smith stated. “We have a very porous border. We can’t keep out the large number of aliens.”
The Deputy Premier pointed out that the BVI’s high per capita income would disqualify the territory from receiving UK aid for building a detention center and criticized legislator Myron Walwyn, who recently said funds are needed for a detention center.
“He knows it is not going to be forthcoming. Our per capita income for many years has been such that the British will not give us US$2.5 million to build a detention center,” Smith said.
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