Immigration Mobile Clinic Headed to Houston in February

Belizeans living in the United States will soon have direct access to essential immigration services, as the government prepares to roll out another overseas mobile clinic next month.  The Ministry of Immigration has announced that its mobile unit is scheduled to travel to Houston in February, bringing services closer to members of the Belizean diaspora who may face challenges returning home to process official documents.  The initiative builds on the recent success of the Collet Immigration Mobile Clinic in Belize City, where residents turned out in strong numbers to receive assistance with passports and other immigration matters. Organizers reported that hundreds of applications were processed, underscoring the growing demand for accessible services.  Minister of Immigration Kareem Musa says the outreach forms part of a broader effort to ensure Belizeans, whether at home or abroad, can efficiently access government support.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration: “We had one it was at the gateway center over the weekend Saturday and Sunday. I want to extend my commendation and thanks to the staff for coming out on a Saturday and Sunday to offer these very important services. As you know a lot of people work during the week and don’t have time to make their way to Belmopan whether it’s to replace their nationality certificate, apply for a new one if it is that they qualify for one, the passport services, and so we had a full compliment of staff at the Gateway Youth Center over the weekend Saturday and Sunday and it was a success and I look forward to us doing more outreach like that in the coming moths. I know that there was already one in the pipeline to do internationally in Houston I think in the next two or three weeks. Again very important for a lot of the Belizean diaspora community for us to have this type of outreach to renew passports. As you know you have to come into the country to renew your passport and so this is a very significant service and the first question that I asked the director of passports is is this going to cost the government and she said no. She said this at the end of the day if it doesn’t at least meet all expenses we make profit from it in providing these passport services when we go abroad.”

Officials note that the Houston clinic is expected to serve a large Belizean population and reflects the ministry’s continued push to modernize and expand its delivery of public services. Additional details, including dates and venue information, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.