U.S. Third Safe Country Proposal Still Under Review by Belize

The Government of Belize is still deliberating the Unites States’ proposal for Belize to become a third safe country. As the U.S. continues to carry out the deportation of undocumented immigrants, Belize was approached to become a third safe country for asylum seekers. This allows for migrants to be sent to a country other than their own, where they can still apply for asylum safely after deportation. The U.S. is taking heat for its latest move; critics say Washington is turning other countries into dumping grounds for criminals. We spoke with Prime Minister John Briceño about the ongoing discussions.

 

Prime Minster John Briceño

“We are working on it. We have had discussions. We brought it to cabinet, and the cabinet has given the green light to continue the negotiations. But basically what we will do, should we get to that point, and we are in negotiations with the US government, is that we are going to determine what countries or what region that would be allowed to come people to be able to come. We will determine how much we will allow people into Belize. It’s not going to be open. We are going to say we want a hundred or ten or fifty We’re working on that number. I could assure you, it’s not going to be a large number. And thirdly, we want to ensure that whenever that happens, then that the funding would be sent over to be able to allow these people to be able to to be able to settle into Belize whilst their case goes through the US courts.”