"Romanian Crime Families" Among Undocumented Immigrants Pouring Into USVI, Police Commissioner Reveals

The VIPD believes there could be thousands of undocumented persons currently in the territory and confirmed that St. John is the preferred entry point for people migrating illegally.

In 2023, authorities encountered 627 undocumented individuals on St. John, but Police Commissioner Ray Martinez told senators on Wednesday that he estimates the true numbers are more than double that figure. “More than 60 percent of the individuals that come in here [are] unknown to us,” he told lawmakers on the Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety Wednesday.

Mr. Martinez explained that his officers continue to work assiduously on their own or with federal partners, including Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection agents, to clamp down on illegal immigration in St. John. “We have come into contact with over 150 undocumented persons here on St. John, and today is only the 31st of the month,” Mr. Martinez disclosed during Thursday’s meeting. An ongoing joint operation with federal agencies led to the arrest of a boat operator and two other individuals whom the VIPD had reason to believe were “picking [up] and transporting these undocumented individuals,” the commissioner said.