But with Belizeans not being able to fill the gap of skilled workers, immigrants have been doing the jobs. Despite this, concerns from the public have been raised whether the increase in immigrants presents fair opportunities for the average Belizean. Here's what the CEO said about that:
Tanya Santos - CEO - Ministry of Immigration
"Well, Belize is a welcoming country. You see our big tourism industry. People want to come here and it's the same concept. Belizeans want to go to the United States and we expect that when our people go to the United States or any other country that they'll be treated fairly and they'll be treated humanely and seek the dreams and opportunities that they're going after. And it's the same idea that many of these people are seeking better opportunities. Some are running for safety. Those are the refugees. Others are looking for just a better way of life. Many also have families here that came through the 80s and the 90s and so they want family reunification. And the amnesty offered an opportunity for people who have been here a long time, who have established roots, who may have Belizean children, to come out of the dark and be a part of the community, be a part of the economy, be able to contribute to the development of our country because many of them are in the dark and afraid and many of them are actually taken advantage of, as Bestie had mentioned. Bringing permanent residents into the country gives you a status and you can work legally, you can become a part of the Belizean society and contribute to the development of the country."
Reporter
"Do you think eventually the Ministry will need to look into putting a cap on this, being that it changes the entire demographic if the country, that's what it boils down to the demographic of Belize will change. Do you think eventually that the Ministry will have to put a cap on this?"
Tanya Santos - CEO - Ministry of Immigration
"The demographic of Belize has changed over the years and that is more of an ethical issue. You can't really stop people from moving and as we're saying we have a high demand for labor that we can't fill. Where will we get the labor?. Do we stop our projects, even if all the Belizeans who aren't working were to get a job in whether it's manual labor whether it's a high skilled employment, we still won't fill the gap so we have to remain open minded that there are people that can help us develop this country and we can manage that system."
