Gov’t Committed to Strengthening Border Security – PM
By: , February 20, 2026
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, addressing the 2026 staging of the national security seminar at the AC Hotel in St. Andrew on February 19.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (second right) listens to a point being made by Senior Director, Investigation, Intelligence and Surveillance Division, Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Mollie Plummer Henry (left) during the 2026 staging of the national security seminar at the AC Hotel in St. Andrew on February 19. They are joined by (from right) Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe and Director, Business Development and Communication, PICA, Kauna McKenzie.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (right), exchanges a handshake with Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Commander Alvin Gayle, during a visit to the OPDEM booth at the national security seminar held at the AC Hotel in St. Andrew on February 19.The Full Story
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is committed to safeguarding the country’s borders as a key part of the national security architecture and resilience.
He said that strong border protection will require significant investment in technology, patrol vessels, maritime surveillance, infrastructure, and personnel to enhance detection and response capabilities.
“We must invest in layered surveillance, coastal radar, aerial reconnaissance, and maritime patrols,” he said.
“We must strengthen our forward-operating presence, including facilities at Black River and the Pedro Cays, and we must integrate surveillance, customs, immigration, and interdiction data into a persistent common operating picture. Persistent domain awareness is resilience,” he added.
Dr. Holness, who was addressing the 2026 staging of the national security seminar at the AC Hotel in St. Andrew on Thursday (February 19), said that strengthening border security is foundational in disrupting the transhipment of illicit drugs, which contribute to domestic crime.
He informed that in 2025, authorities seized more than 33,000 kilograms of marijuana and over 1,360 kilograms of cocaine. The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard intercepted approximately 990 pounds of cocaine valued at $3.7 billion.
The Prime Minister further highlighted the issue of irregular migrant entries.
In 2025, Jamaica documented 124 such known entries, primarily from Haiti and Cuba, each requiring humanitarian processing, legal compliance, and sustained resource allocation.
The Prime Minister said that for a small island developing state like Jamaica, sustained unmanaged inflows “pose a real economic, administrative, and social strain”.
Meanwhile, he said the recently promulgated United States (US) National Security Strategy has recentred the Western Hemisphere, linking irregular migration and transnational organised crime directly to US national security priorities.
“We see this as an opportunity to deepen regional cooperation and advance our shared goal of peace across the Caribbean. Jamaica welcomes structured cooperation. We will continue to strengthen intelligence sharing, maritime coordination, and joint enforcement, but cooperation must remain balanced and principled,” he said.
“It must respect sovereignty. It must align with Jamaica’s national interests and regional leadership within CARICOM. Peace and national security resilience is a competitive advantage for Jamaica,” the Prime Minister added.
Dr. Holness said that the Government will continue to implement measures to build a safer, stronger, peaceful, and more resilient Jamaica.
“We will shape our security outcomes. We will defend our sovereignty. We will turn national security resilience into a competitive advantage, attracting investment, talent, and opportunity in an uncertain world,” he declared.
