As migration dominates global debates, small states like Saint Lucia and others in the Caribbean find themselves in a difficult position: balancing humanitarian concerns with limited resources while safeguarding borders against transnational crime.
Against this backdrop, a meeting of chiefs of immigration and comptrollers of customs in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convened this week under the theme Strengthening Regional Leadership, Innovation and Collaboration in Border Security. The two-day gathering has brought together regional security leaders to address escalating threats, including migrant smuggling, human trafficking and the infiltration of organised crime networks.
In his keynote address, Saint Lucian Prime Minister Philip J Pierre underscored the vulnerability of Caribbean democracies to external criminal influences.
“We must accept that the emergence of gangs and gang-related activities heavily influenced by outside forces poses a threat to our system, our democracy and our peaceful way of life,” Pierre warned.
He emphasised the critical role of regional bodies like CARICOM’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) in countering these challenges, while calling for greater integrity among border officials facing intimidation and bribery.
Highlighting the equity gaps in customs enforcement, Pierre said, “We have to ensure that we develop a society where there is opportunity for all… where the regular person who brings in a barrel from the United States will believe that he will get the same treatment as the major business who brings in 50 or 60 containers.”
The meeting’s agenda tackled migration policy, anti-smuggling efforts and strategies shared by member countries. For small Caribbean nations– often transit points rather than destinations for large-scale migration–the focus is on pragmatic cooperation.
Earl Harris, assistant director of corporate services at CARICOM IMPACS, outlined the agency’s balancing act: “In general, we understand the pressures of people leaving their home and seeking a better way for themselves and their families. Our role is to ensure that even though we may not be asylum states, we must verify that people who are attempting to enter the region do not have criminal backgrounds or criminal links that will put pressure on member states.”
Harris also addressed the region’s constraints: “We don’t really have the capacity, we shouldn’t be spending money trying to protect them [or] deport them… So if we could prevent them from coming in and member states are assured that whoever is coming into the region, whether it’s a visitor or asylum seeker, which is determined by the policy of every sovereign member state, our role basically is to vet them and let the member states know ‘okay this person is a genuine person’ they have no known criminal record and you could determine how you treat them based on your national policy.”
The meeting closes with discussions on opportunities for regional collaboration and the impacts of US policies on customs and immigration operation and migration strategies at CARICOM borders.
