DA launches bid for immigration detention centre consultancy

The Virgin Islands Recovery and Development Agency (RDA) has issued a call for consultancy services to design and manage the construction of a new Immigration Detention Centre at Balsam Ghut in Tortola.

The new centre will enhance the territory’s immigration infrastructure by establishing a facility that upholds both security and human dignity. The Government’s Immigration Department envisions a state-of-the-art facility that transcends conventional standards for detention centres, reflecting a progressive approach to immigration management and human rights.

The proposed centre will prioritise security while ensuring humane treatment for individuals in custody, aligning with international standards. Interested consulting firms are invited to submit Expressions of Interest by January 31 2025. Submissions will be evaluated based on technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, and financial capability.

The consultancy bid comes in response to longstanding concerns about detention facilities in the territory. In August 2022, then-Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police St Clair Amory highlighted the need for a proper detention centre following constant detainee escapes from temporary facilities.

Since the destruction of the previous centre during the 2017 hurricanes, immigration detainees have been housed in government-rented hotels and guest houses, which, even when supplied with security officers, has resulted in a multitude of escapes over the past few years.

Last year, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley put the cost of housing and repatriating illegal migrants in the millions of dollars, adding that the issue will continue to be a challenge for the BVI. Dozens of illegal migrants were apprehended in the territory in recent years, and Dr Wheatley emphasised the financial burden placed on the budget by the current detention system.

“I don’t have the cost in front of me right now, but rest assured that it’s in the millions,” Dr Wheatley said at the time about the illegal immigration burden. “So we are working expeditiously for a solution because it’s certainly very expensive. We want to use that money that we’re spending to help develop the territory.”