News
TCI has stopped 1,921 Migrants at sea, ‘Operation Pursuit’ is land-based says Police
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, May 30, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos Islands Government has rolled out a new initiative called ‘Operation PURSUIT’ to prevent, seek out, and deport illegal migrants. Rodney Adams, Acting Police Commissioner detailed the program on May 22nd, during a National Press Conference on immigration.
“The strategic intent is to provide a multi-agency framework to locate, identify and process persons illegally in the Turks and Caicos,” Adams explained.
It will also:
- Weed out persons working illegally;
- Identify and deal with illegal structures;
- Deter future migrants through international partnerships;
- Prevent illegal weapons and contraband from entering the TCI;
- Create channels for intelligence sharing in the TCI.
Adams said only hours earlier, the National Security Council who had proposed the project met with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, who will lead the project and signed the joint law enforcement multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding.
“Operation Pursuit starts immediately and there will be some inconvenience on the roads of the Turks and Caicos because there will be a number of law enforcement activities as it relates to vehicular traffic and checkpoints, but we are serious about taking our streets back,” he maintained.
There have been 1,921 irregular migrants caught in the Turks and Caicos in the first five months of 2023.