Brazilian Traveler Sent Back Home by Immigration Officers

A Brazilian traveler who arrived in Belize with just sixteen dollars in cash was sent back home, even though they had proof of accommodations. This situation raises the question: was the visitor being profiled by immigration officers upon arrival? Prime Minister Briceño addressed this issue earlier today. Here’s what he had to say.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I’ve asked the CEO to give me a briefing because I knew you would probably ask me that one.  Basically what has happened, there is a policy, they’ve set up, certain criteria for when somebody is coming in.  We’ve had a number of instances when people from Central and from South America would come to Belize in an attempt to get to the United States.  They have seen that our borders are fairly porous with Mexico and so they think [that it’s easier] fly to Belize and then from PGIA to the Mexican border, to the west or the north, it’s an hour and a half, two hours, they’re there.  If they land in Guatemala City they have hours of traveling to do, so I think they find it easier to go through. I’m not suggesting that this person wanted to do the same, but based on the past there’s a certain profile that our officers look at.  So when the officers saw that profile, the officer brought it up to the port commander, that commander consulted with another port commander and they all came to the conclusion that that person did not meet the criteria, that that person not be allowed to come into Belize.  The persons were understanding and we handled it very professionally and the person is welcome to come back once they could satisfy the immigration officers that they are coming here for holiday.”