Turks and Caicos travel warning issued as migrants descend on popular vacation spot in droves
A former FBI investigator and international security expert said the recent rise in the travel advisory level in Turks and Caicos culminates from multiple factors, one of which may be the influx of foreign migrants.
Bill Daly, who after his career in the FBI worked at two of the world's largest international security and investigative firms, spoke with Fox News Digital about the U.S. State Department's recent decision to raise the popular vacation destination to a Level 2 travel advisory due to higher levels of crime.
Since the beginning of this year, Turks and Caicos has seen an influx of migrant rafts coming ashore.
As of Feb. 18, the country had intercepted four vessels in 2025, and authorities had detained a total of 296 "irregular migrants" in that time. On March 4, the State Department issued the new travel advisory.
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"I think the concern is, much like in our country, who the people are coming in, and is there a criminal element coming in?" Daly said. "You know, again, a lot of that does kind of precipitate whether or not people kind of incorporate themselves into the culture of the society. Can they get work? Can they get jobs? Because if they can't, then they might do something else to get money and do things they want to do, and that could result in criminality."
He noted that when there are boats of people coming into a country, like the U.S. often sees from Cuba, there could be bad actors mixed in who have criminal intent or criminal histories.
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Daly, who in his private-sector work handled some of the most high-profile cases of kidnapping, ransom and extortion around the world, said the government does not raise travel advisories without serious consideration and input from many sources.
Illegal immigration alone is not enough to raise a travel advisory level, according to Daly.
In fact, the government takes a great deal of caution in changing travel advisory levels because such changes can impact the safety and protection of Americans and American assets abroad, and it can also affect tourism levels in places like Turks and Caicos, which relies on tourism as a huge part of its economy.
WATCH: U.S. issues travel advisory for Turks and Caicos
"The State Department issues these travel advisories based upon information they gather both from the embassies [and] the countries," Daly said. "They also draw from the FBI legal attaches. They're called legats, who are in many embassies around the world. If not in a particular country, then certainly there's a legat that has responsibility for that particular country, for instance Turks and Caicos."
Legats, along with resident security officers in American embassies across the world, liaise with national and local law enforcement and gather information from other intelligence apparatuses to be able to inform the State Department on danger levels in particular locales.
The State Department also utilizes the Overseas Security Advisory Council, a private partner, that contributes local perspectives on criminality and helps the government make travel advisory decisions.
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"All of them collectively help start to contribute to what might be in the best interest of U.S. citizens who are traveling to these countries," Daly said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas, which oversees American affairs in Turks and Caicos.
Separately, five Americans were arrested in Turks and Caicos last year for accidentally bringing ammunition into the country.
WATCH: U.S. dad arrested in Turks and Caicos speaks out after return home
They narrowly escaped 12-year prison sentences, and Turks and Caicos has since updated its laws to provide more leniency in such cases.