T&T has always been a nation shaped by movement. From the first Indigenous canoe crossings to the arrival of African, Indian, European and regional migrants, immigration is not a sidebar in the national story — it is the story.
That truth, however, does not absolve the State of its responsibility to manage migration firmly, fairly and transparently. The Government’s latest effort to regularise undocumented migrants is therefore necessary, but it should not be mistaken for a comprehensive immigration policy.
The expanded Migrant Registration Framework (MRF), which opens next Friday, allows undocumented migrants of all nationalities to register, work legally and obtain temporary status until December 31, 2026. Failure to comply will result in immediate deportation. Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander has framed the initiative as a law-enforcement tool — one designed to improve intelligence, accountability and national security — and on that narrow point, the Government is correct.
Regularisation strengthens enforcement. It brings people into systems where they can be monitored, regulated and, if necessary, removed. Compared with the 2019 exercise, this framework promises tighter controls at a fraction of the cost, and that alone justifies cautious public support.
But history — including our own — demands a wider lens. Since the mid-20th century, hundreds of thousands of T&T nationals have emigrated abroad, primarily to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. They did so seeking opportunity, stability and dignity. Many faced suspicion, restrictive laws and political hostility in their host countries. That experience should inject humility into domestic debates about who belongs and under what conditions.
At the same time, compassion cannot be confused with complacency. T&T is not an open-border state, nor should it be. As a Caricom member, it already participates in a structured regional migration system that grants free movement to certain categories of skilled Caribbean nationals. Those arrangements are rule-based, reciprocal and regulated — precisely the opposite of unmanaged migration.
The current situation, particularly with non-Caricom migration flows driven by regional instability, exposes a policy gap. Temporary registration exercises, no matter how well intentioned, are reactive tools. They do not answer fundamental questions about labour needs, asylum procedures, social service capacity or long-term integration. Without a coherent immigration policy anchored in regional cooperation, regularisation risks becoming a recurring emergency response rather than a strategic solution.
There are also legitimate concerns about execution. The $700 registration fee, while defensible as cost recovery, may exclude the most vulnerable, undermining the very intelligence-gathering the exercise seeks to achieve. The threat of immediate deportation for non-registration, though legally sound, must be paired with clear safeguards for children and mixed-status families. Public confidence will hinge on whether enforcement is consistent, lawful and free from abuse.
Regionally, T&T cannot address migration in isolation. Economic disparities, climate shocks and political crises will continue to drive movement within and toward the Caribbean. That reality demands coordinated border management, data sharing and labour planning — not episodic national fixes.
The MRF is, therefore, a necessary step, but it is not enough. If Government is serious about “doing things differently,” this exercise must be followed by a clear, publicly debated immigration framework — one that balances security with humanity, regional obligations with national interest, and history with hard choices.
T&T’s strength has never been in pretending complexity does not exist. It lies in confronting it honestly — and governing accordingly.
