Belize Police Monitoring Potential Deportations of Citizens with Pending Charges

Police continue to monitor whether or not Belizeans in the United States who have pending charges in Belize will be deported. In January, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there was a list of just under 900 Belizeans who were being sought for deportation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says that he has not been keeping close track of the situation, but he knows that there is currently no one on the department’s radar to be picked up when they are eventually deported. 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “I have not been following the deportation much.  I can’t really give you an answer, but I  know that I have seen lists with a number of persons  returning home, but very little, if any at all, as it relates to persons of interest. Those persons that we have seen coming home are not persons of interest to us, and so we just normally go through the normal routine with them.  So we are with those who are of interest to us.”

In February, ICE had reported 96 Belizeans in custody.