Amnesty 2022 Budget Not Finalized as Yet

In 2022, an amnesty program will regularise the status of upwards of fifty thousand undocumented migrants in Belize. There have been rumors after the amnesty period there will be a crackdown by law enforcement on those staying in Belize without proper documentation. But who would carry this out? P.M. Briceño says that while his government intends to increase the number of B.D.F. soldiers, this is not linked to the amnesty. A budget has also not been finalised as yet.

Prime Minister John Briceño

John Briceño

“We do think that we may have to expand the B.D.F. or the security forces, but it will not be because of migration or illegal migration into Belize. All we are saying is that we have to implement the laws of the country. We can’t continue to have this open-door policy that you come to visit Belize and then you decide to stay. We are happy that you want to stay. We know we are a unique country; we are beautiful, but we also need to protect it. So it simply means that if you come to visit, when your visit comes to an end, then you need to leave, you need to go back to your country. The budget is not finalised yet, but the amnesty, the actual work will not start till March, I think. So by the time, we will be almost at the verge of introducing a new budget so it will be covered in the new budget.”