On Monday's newscast, we told you how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Immigration expressed outrage that 8 of those COPA passengers who were pretending to be asylum-seekers, escaped from Belize.
They arrived last week on a flight from Panama, but they were refused leave to land in Belize because their hotel plans were sketchy. They were detained at the police cell block and their attorney complained bitterly against the Belizean authorities for their supposed mistreatment while in detention.
Well, in compliance with its international human rights obligations for migrants, 8 of those passengers were handed over to the Help For Progress, UNHCR's implementing partner. That's because they indicated to the UNHCR that they wanted to pursue refugee status in Belize.
Turns out, they didn't even visit the Refugee Department to apply for asylum, and according to the Ministry of Immigration, the best information from UNHCR is that they apparently made their way to Mexico. So, basically, they navigated the loopholes to get around that refusal to land in Belize, and as suspected form the outset, carried through with their plan to use this country as a transit point north.
Well, Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay told Cabinet of his Ministry's concern that there has been an increase in the numbers of migrants arriving in Belize, through the Phillip Goldson International Airport from Panama, via COPA Airline flights. The Ministry believes they are using Belize as a transit point to move northbound.
This morning, we asked Acting Prime Minister Cordel Hyde for his views:
Hon. Cordel Hyde - Acting Prime Minister
"It's a difficult situation. I think it's a learning experience for us. We have to be extremely vigilant, where the people who are coming into the country are concerned. It's hard to - there's always a human interest in these things, and it's hard to really evaluate the seriousness of the situations without really understanding the unique situations that these people may find themselves in. It's not easy. It's not an easy thing, but we have to be on the ball. We have to be ever mindful of human trafficking, ever mindful of the pitfalls that await us with this giant migration problem that exists in the region, escalated or started with the really devastating poverty situations that exist in these countries, and people are trying to find their way out. We are still a haven. You know, we lament a lot about what we have, but we are still a beautiful little paradise in the middle of really, really rough areas. So, I think it's a wake up call for us because I think we've been asleep a little - Well, let me not say that, but I think the average person wasn't cognizant that this kind of trafficking is taking place at this level, and that when these lights led him to believe that it's not all legitimate people who try to get off the plane, you know. Like - you just assume so, when you hear 37 persons cannot land, that's shocking. That's something that's big news, but we have to respect our laws. We have to uphold our laws without always trying to avoid judgment because I don't know peculiar situations, you know."
The Cabinet has since given its approval for the Ministry of Immigration to impose visa requirements for nationals of Venezuela, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.
