Deputy Premier and Minister of Immigration and Border Services
Honourable Jamell Rayan Robinson Sr. is an elected All-Island Member of Parliament of the Turks and Caicos Islands and currently serves as Deputy Premier and Minister of Immigration and Border Services. Now in his second term in elected government, Hon. Robinson brings a distinguished record of public service, grounded in decades of professional experience across the public service, the private sector, and national leadership. His career reflects a consistent and deeply personal commitment to the advancement, security, and empowerment of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Hon. Robinson was first elected to the House of Assembly and appointed Minister of Health and Human Services, where he guided the Ministry and extension the Nation through the peak of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic with policies that allowed for maximum public health and safety while ensuring the economy bounced back to better than pre-pandemic numbers. He subsequently served as Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructural Development, a portfolio through which he championed transformative legislative priorities such as the Real Estate Amendment Bill 2024, in addition to critical infrastructure policy and programmes that continue to shape the built environment of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Most notably the National Housing Policy 2023 and Community Enhance Programme.
In his current role as Deputy Premier and Minister of Immigration and Border Services, Hon. Robinson leads a reform agenda with one of the most operationally complex portfolios in Government, focusing on the restructuring of the Employment Services Department i.e Labour, finalization of the Population Policy, upgrading of the Customs Asycuda World System, the Repeal and Replacement Immigration Bill 2026, and the full implementation of the Digital Borders Programme by the summer of 2027. Overall overseeing the movement of persons across the Islands and the policies that define national identity and border integrity.
Hon. Robinson holds a Master of Science in Disaster Management with Distinction from Coventry University, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with a Minor in Chemistry from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He is a published researcher whose work has been presented at regional and international forums. His paper, "Turks and Caicos Post Hurricane Ike Recovery: A Case Study," was presented at the 5th Annual Caribbean Comprehensive Disaster Management Conference in Jamaica in 2010, and his article on the Islands' response to Hurricane Ike appeared in the Crisis Journal 2009 (Volume 5, Issue 1). He has also received specialised training in results-based management, geographic information systems, climate change vulnerability assessments, risk mapping, and advanced security operations through institutions including FEMA, PAHO, CDEMA, and the Caribbean Development Bank.
Prior to entering elected office, Hon. Robinson built an extensive career in both the public and private sectors. He served as Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government from 2009 to 2012, following several years as Director Counterpart within the same department from 2005. In this capacity, he developed and implemented a Results-Based Management Framework for the National Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme; coordinated national responses to hurricanes, pandemics, and other hazardous events; and served as Chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee. He also advised His Excellency the Governor through the Executive Policy Group.
Hon. Robinson served as the National Disaster Coordinator for the Turks and Caicos Islands, a role in which he spearheaded the development of the Islands' national disaster, tsunami, and earthquake response plans through multi-sector stakeholder consultation processes. As a Caribbean Disaster Risk Reduction (CaDRi) Module Facilitator and member of the National Climate Change Committee, he contributed to the development of the Turks and Caicos Islands Climate Change Green Paper, and collaborated with international partners including UK Aid, UNDP, the European Union, and the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to secure external funding and technical support for national resilience initiatives.
In the private sector, Hon. Robinson served as Principal Consultant at Learn and Lead Disaster Consultancy from 2012 to 2021, providing recovery planning, hazard and vulnerability assessments, climate change adaptation guidance, and business continuity plan development to a range of local and regional clients. He also served as Country Manager of Sun Oil Ltd. from 2014 to 2019, and as Managing Director of Prestigious Insurance Agency from 2012 to 2014, demonstrating leadership across diverse operational environments. He is co-owner of Learn and Lead Ltd., a people empowerment and professional development organisation that he founded in 2008 alongside his wife, Yolande Robinson.
Throughout his career, Hon. Robinson has served the Turks and Caicos Islands beyond the bounds of his professional roles. He served as a Director on the TCI National Insurance Board from 2016 to 2019, as a Commissioner on the Public Service Commission from 2013 to 2015, and as a member of the TCI Immigration Board. He was Vice President of the Turks and Caicos Islands Civil Service Association from 2011 to 2012, and was active in both the Providenciales and Grand Turk Chambers of Commerce. He served as a CARICOM Youth Ambassador from 2008 to 2010, and organised the Each One Teach One tutoring programme in 2010 as a community initiative to support young learners across the Islands. He was also a member of the Grand Turk Chapter of Rotaract and served as Awareness and Education Coordinator at St. Monica's Anglican Church.
Hon. Robinson is a faithful parishioner at the Parish Church of St. Monica and an active member of the Anglican Church Men (ACM). He is a devoted husband to Yolande Robinson and a dedicated father to their three children. He holds a deep and abiding love for the Turks and Caicos Islands and considers the opportunity to serve its people the greatest honour of his professional life.