USVI: Lt. Gov. Roach raises possibility of USVI & VI combining
Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach used his remarks at the University of the Virgin Islands’ St. Croix commencement ceremony on Friday to deliver a far-reaching message on the future of the territory, telling graduates that the current relationship between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States should not be viewed as permanent, and warning that the next generation will be called upon to decide what the Virgin Islands ultimately becomes.
Speaking before the Class of 2026 at the Island Center for the Performing Arts, Mr Roach said the territory’s status as an unincorporated territory of the United States places the Virgin Islands in a political relationship that many residents do not fully examine beyond the fact that they cannot vote for president.
“But the one that they don't speak about really cuts to the core of what that status is,” Mr Roach said. “It is that the Constitution of the United States is not fully applicable to the territory of the Virgin Islands, and the provisions that are applicable are only done so by acts of Congress, which has plenary authority over the territories.”
Mr. Roach explained “plenary” in plain terms, telling graduates that it means “everything, all authority.” He said that reality is especially important “in the time that we are living in,” because the Virgin Islands remains “a non-self-governing territory of the United States.”
A much deeper conversation
His remarks placed the commencement ceremony within a much larger conversation about self-determination, colonial history, and the responsibility of young Virgin Islanders to think seriously about the territory’s political future.
The territory’s modern system of self-government developed gradually. The Organic Act of 1936 helped establish the foundation for local government, while the Revised Organic Act of 1954 provided the framework that still shapes much of the territory’s governing structure. The first elections for constitutional officers were held in 1970.
Still, Mr. Roach told graduates that the larger question of status remains unresolved. He pointed to the United Nations framework for non-self-governing territories, saying the territory must eventually choose among pathways such as independence, full integration into the administering state, or free association, a negotiated relationship with the United States or another state.
“In your lifetime, this status will change at some time. It will change,” he said.
Deeper ties with the VI
The lieutenant governor also raised the possibility of deeper ties with the British Virgin Islands, a neighboring British Overseas Territory with close cultural and geographic connections to the U.S. Virgin Islands. He noted that the BVI is separated from the U.S. Virgin Islands by only a short distance, especially when viewed from the east end of St. John, and said both territories share cultural similarities that should not be ignored.
“We have a neighboring territory, the British Virgin Islands, separated by only 10 miles, if you look out to them from the east end of St. John, but culturally very similar to who we are,” Mr. Roach said. He added that one option discussed in the United Nations context is whether both territories could decide together that they have the resources “to combine and become a country of ourselves,” stressing that such a choice would be one “that nobody has imposed on us.”
Mr. Roach framed that possibility not as a declaration of policy, but as an issue worthy of serious consideration. He pointed to the collective assets of both territories, including the natural environment, airports, hospitals, higher education institutions, vocational training, and a shared language and culture.
“If you consider that possibility, here is a territory with one of the most pristine environments in the world,” he said, referring to the combined U.S. and British Virgin Islands. He then cited “three international airports, at least three hospitals,” a cancer center on St. Thomas, a cardiac center on St. Croix, a community college, a university, a medical school, vocational institutions, “and a people with a common language and culture.”
The remarks stood out at a ceremony otherwise focused on academic achievement, community pride, and the promise of the graduating class. Mr. Roach began his speech on a deeply personal note, saying he was still grieving the loss of his sister, Violet Alicia Brown Roach, who died earlier this month and was buried last Saturday.
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14 Responses to “USVI: Lt. Gov. Roach raises possibility of USVI & VI combining ”
So if all ayo want from us is OUR Blue Economy - GTFOH if you cannot pay the fees! We are awake and taking back what is ours! Fake friends and family who don’t have OUR interests at heart can drop anchor in the Drop Off…
Moreover, as noted, it is currently an unincorporated territory of the US. It being an unincorporated territory has evolved, engineered. The Insular Cases, a series of early 1900 US Supreme Court cases was the animating force for the unincorporated status. Below is Wikipedia summary of Insular cases.
“ The Insular Cases were a series of controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning in 1901. They determined that residents of newly acquired overseas territories (such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines) did not automatically have the same constitutional rights and protections as U.S. citizens.These rulings established several key doctrines that continue to shape the political and legal landscape today:Unincorporated Territories:
The Court created a new legal category called "unincorporated territories," meaning areas that "belong to, but are not a part of" the United States. In incorporated territories (like early Alaska or Hawaii), the Constitution applied fully.Partial Rights: In unincorporated territories, only "fundamental" constitutional rights applied. Other protections—such as the right to a jury trial—were not automatically granted unless Congress specifically chose to extend them.Congressional Control: The decisions gave Congress "plenary power" to govern these territories and dictate the citizenship status of their inhabitants.Historical Context and LegacyDecided in the wake of the 1898 Spanish-American War, these rulings allowed the U.S. to govern its new overseas empire without fully integrating the local populations. The decisions were highly influenced by the political dynamics and racial attitudes of the era, which presumed that the non-white inhabitants of these islands were incapable of self-governance.Today, the legal framework established by the Insular Cases remains in effect for U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It limits the political power of their residents—for example, preventing U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico from voting in presidential elections—and remains a subject of ongoing legal challenge and debate.”
There is power and strength in unity. For example, many locales across the globe, ie, mostly in the Global North, ie, US, Canada, EU, Australia, etc..Noticeably absent from the unification are South America, Africa, the second largest continent but the richest in natural resources.
The current USVI has an oil refinery, manufacturing and engineering facilities, modernised local infrastructure development, and experience with a different form of local government structure to ours (republican democracy vs westminister-style government. Based on their past history as an unincorporated territory, they would also have nurtured ties and familial relationships with the USA, which could prove beneficial for future trade and cooperative ventures.
The BVI, for its part has developed a very favorable yachting tourism sector, favored by sheltered waters surrounded a multitude of inhabited islands. Additionally, we have a attracted a population of wealthy expatriate landowners who have developed luxury real estate properties for both private and commercial tourism ventures. Our territorial waters are an enviable resources for fishing and as yet untapped maritime resources.
Singularly we each have certain advantages and resources that the other ensues, and there is some mutual suspicion and distrust as we each have tried to "get one over" on the other over the years. It's ironically sad and also funny that for a people who have more in common with each other and are even related, we seem more intent on demonizing and hurting each other than we are to put aside differences, lay down prejudices and grudges, and see if we are not indeed "better together". Sadly it's the same "crabs in the bucket" mentality that prevents true Caribbean cooperation and unity of purpose, resources and direction.
Maybe it will take cooler, more mature heads than ours to prevail. Maybe it's a fools dream... but what is life without a dream of something bigger and better than ourselves?
Dont cut off your nose to spite your face.