Belize Officials Engage Diaspora During Outreach Visit to Houston

Belizeans in the diaspora are continuing to benefit from expanded government outreach, with senior officials traveling to the United States to strengthen ties and deliver essential services directly to the community.  On Friday night, Prime Minister John Briceño and Minister of Immigration Kareem Musa headlined a meet-and-greet session at the Hilton Garden Inn Energy Corridor in Houston, Texas. The event, held from seven to nine o’clock, brought together Belizeans living in the area for direct engagement with government leadership.  Our Houston Correspondent, Felix Mai, was on location and conducted a live interview with both officials, capturing their perspectives on the importance of maintaining close connections with Belizeans abroad and ensuring access to vital services.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “Well, I think the diaspora plays a key role in the development of Belize. When you look at the amount of money that they send to their families I mean it’s in the tens of millions of dollars and I don’t think we have been giving the diaspora the necessary respect and importance and so I think by taking these initiatives for us to come to the diaspora, to come to Houston, go to LA, or to Miami and Chicago and so forth to provide that service that is very difficult for you all to go to Belize to get done I think that is one small way that we could say thanks for what you do. And for me as the Prime Minister of the country it’s important also that I can take that time out and come and to mingle and to see people that I haven’t seen in a long time and to hear them out, their concerns, how they see things from afar. Because you know when you’re in the middle of something you tend to miss ut but when you have somebody looking from the outside in they can tell you Prime Minister I think you’re missing this or good job or you could do this better, and I really appreciate that and at the same time to be able to connect with them and tell them listen Belize is home, Belize will always be your home and try to think ways of how what you could do to come back to Belize and invest in Belize not just money but find ways how you could invest to help us to develop Belize to create opportunity and for our people. So I’m excited to be able to mingle and meet everyone here in Houston.” 

The meet-and-greet formed part of a broader weekend initiative led by the Belize Immigration Department, aimed at making services more accessible to the diaspora. Immigration officials are in Houston facilitating the collection of passports and nationality by descent certificates, removing the need for travel back to Belize.  Officials say the initiative builds on the success of a mobile passport hub held in February at the same venue, where Belizeans were able to submit applications for key documents.  The immigration clinic continues throughout the weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn along the Energy Corridor, with services available for document collection and no appointment required.