Amid a flurry of immigration cases being filed in the St. Thomas/St. John Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, Chief Judge Robert Molloy is assigning matters to magistrate judges on a rotational basis.
In an order filed on April 7, Judge Molloy declared that there is an “inordinate number” of cases being filed in the St. Thomas/St. John division. He therefore said that moving forward, immigration cases – matters brought under Title 8 of the United States code, Section 1325 a) – will be assigned “to magistrate judges in the District of the Virgin Islands on a rotational basis.”
In this manner, magistrates across the district have been empowered to try these matters, no matter which division – St. Croix or St. Thomas/St. John – they are assigned to. This move is “in order to maintain the proper administration of justice and to appropriately allocate court resources,” said Judge Molloy.
The recent deluge of such matters shows no signs of slowing down. At least two people were arrested at the Cyril E. King Airport after Customs and Border Protection officers determined they had no legal status to be in the country.
Yesica Perez Pie, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, was arrested on April 4th when she arrived at CEKA for a flight to Miami, Florida with onward connection to Hartford, Connecticut. At the airport, she was directed to secondary screening to determine her legal status.
Ms. Perez Pie reportedly admitted to entering the United States illegally just over two years ago. She said that she left her home country on April 1, 2023, on a flight to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Immediately after arriving in Tortola, she crossed over to St. John by boat. The illegal boat crossing coast her $8000, Ms. Perez Pie reportedly told CBP officers. In her passport, agents found a BVI entry stamp dated April 1, 2023.
With no evidence of a U.S. visa, permanent resident status, or prior permission to enter the United States, Ms. Perez Pie was arrested and charged with illegal entry. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Alan Teague on Monday.
Druv Sharma was also arrested at the airport last Friday, April 4. He had come for his Cape Air flight to Tortola. Mr. Sharma reportedly successfully made the flight, but was denied entry into the BVI due to the apparent lack of sufficient documentation to be admitted. Upon his return to the USVI, he was taken to the secondary inspection area for a check of his legal status in the United States.
Mr. Sharma, like Ms. Perez Pie, also reportedly spoke voluntarily to CBP officers. He told them that he is a citizen and national of India. He left on October 20, 2024, first traveling to Amsterdam, and then St. Martin. He says he left St. Martin for Dominica, and then came by boat to St. John in January 2025. According to Mr. Sharma, he was robbed of between four and five hundred dollars as payment for the boat journey. An inspection of his passport found the last stamp to be one from Dominica, showing his entry on November 24, 2024. Absent evidence of any legal documentation to be in the United States, Mr. Sharma was also charged with illegal entry.
No appearance in court has been recorded for Mr. Sharma as of press time.
Information on the public court docket indicates that a third person may have been arrested on or around Sunday, however no details for this matter have been posted as of press time.
