$5.6M allocated for prefab units at migrant holding centre

A site at Fairbanks is being prepared for a potential influx of migrants, who, if they arrive in large numbers, would be housed in prefabricated modular units, Home Affairs Minister Nickolas DaCosta has confirmed.

Cabinet has committed $5.6 million in funding for a dedicated migrant detention and processing site this year, the minister told legislators Friday.

In response to a parliamentary question from Red Bay Opposition MP Roy Tatum, DaCosta said preparedness work was under way to manage the potential influx of “irregular” migrants. Economic instability in Cuba has led to fears that migrants from the island will begin flooding into Cayman, as has happened in the past.

DaCosta said a “sudden influx of a few hundred irregular migrants will overwhelm Cayman’s existing reception shelter and processing capacity, if appropriate infrastructure is not in place in advance”.

He confirmed that preliminary site preparation works have been completed, including land clearance and grading, at a location in Fairbanks, near the existing migration detention centre.

Quick build-out

The site would be built out with a “modular, rapidly deployable accommodation” that includes prefabricated containerised units, that, once purchased, could be erected within eight to 12 weeks.

Government is looking to buy enough of the modular units to house 240 migrants at the site initially.

“These systems can be transported, efficiently assembled within a short time frame and operated, either connected to existing utilities or independently where required,” DaCosta said.

The modular and scalable accommodation would mean that the same site could eventually be used for “longer-term infrastructure”, he added.

“This represents a substantial improvement over traditional construction timelines and as a key factor in strengthening the Cayman Islands’ preparedness to respond to a potential surge event,” he said.

As migrants arriving by boat often land first on Little Cayman or Cayman Brac, DaCosta confirmed areas on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman had been identified to hold arrivals. But, he said, “the plan is not to house and keep irregular or illegal migrants in the Sister Islands, but to have a quickly deployed relocation of those persons to Grand Cayman so that we don’t need to duplicate the infrastructure across all islands”.

Asked for a definitive timeline on when the units would be available, DaCosta responded that, as the procurement process was currently under way, he hoped they would be on island by September.

Security concerns

In response to a follow-up question from Tatum regarding security at the facility, following a number of escapes, DaCosta said the modular units were “much more secure than a civic centre, which we have been forced to use over the past few years”.

The minister noted that the units could be used for purposes other than holding irregular migrants, such as a detention site for low-risk prisoners.

“So, we are working with the vendor to ensure that windows are reinforced, doors are able to be locked, if necessary, if they need to be fully detained,” he said.

He added, “But the most important part is most of these persons, the irregular migrants, need to be housed with dignity. So, there will be segregated areas of the … site with different, varying levels of security. It is definitely not going to be a hotel or a campground, but the security will vary based on the individual that we have to house.”

DaCosta said local residents in the Fairbanks neighbourhood would be kept updated on progress at the site. “It is definitely not going to be a free-for-all,” he said. “The area will be properly secured, as the same with the Fairbanks prison, as is the same with the detention centre, because, again, it is not a campground. It is going to be a detention and processing centre.”