Police Department Prepares for Influx of Deportees

On Monday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the forty-seventh president of the United States. Known for his strict stance on immigration, Trump plans to deport all illegal immigrants from U.S. soil. This mass deportation will affect many Central American nationals, including those from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize. The Belize Police Department is preparing for the return of several wanted criminals who had fled to the U.S. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams assured that the department is ready to receive all deportees and outlined the protocols that will be in place upon their arrival back in Belize.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Once you get a deportee coming in, we get a notice that the deportee will be coming in on certain flights. And that information comes to me. I send that information to GI3 then goes to the airport and meet that person when they get off the flight. That person is then taken into an office, interviewed by immigration. From there, they’re brought to Belize City to the GI3 office where they go through the process as a deportee. They’ll be issued a letter instructing them that they are to report to the police station in the area where they reside. Either once or twice a week for a certain period of time, if it is that they are to change the address while they are reporting, they have an obligation to ensure that they report to the police that they have changed the address. If as a part of that deporting process as well, they’re not supposed to hang out with any person who are of criminal background. So there are several things that comes with being a deportee while reporting and we ensure that those issues are stipulated by law,bthat they are followed to the T. So once a deportee, for example, changes his address without notifying GI3, that deportee can be charged criminally and taken before the court”

 

Paul Lopez

“Does police anticipate an influx?”

 

Chester Williams

“Well, obviously we have heard the news from the new President of the United States that they’ll be rounding up people and they’ll be sending them back home. So, we are expecting that, yes, certain people will be brought back home. And as I’ve said before, there are some of these people who are wanted by the police for record. Crimes they have been accused of committing and we’re waiting for them. Once they land at the airport We’ll be there to receive them and they go through the process.”