5 days ago
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Questions were raised recently after a Belizean national was transferred from the United States to St. Kitts and Nevis under a controversial third-country migration arrangement involving Caribbean governments and U.S. immigration authorities. According to reports emerging from St. Kitts and Nevis, the Belizean arrived in the twin-island Federation on May 19 alongside two Jamaican nationals as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and the United States concerning the transfer of certain CARICOM nationals classified as third-country migrants. Authorities in St. Kitts say the individuals were not transferred because of criminal convictions, but rather due to immigration violations in the United States. Officials there also stated that the individuals would be processed under the normal immigration procedures applicable to CARICOM nationals. However, the case has sparked curiousity, particularly because Belizean nationals facing deportation or removal from the United States would traditionally be expected to return directly to Belize. The development has fueled questions about why the Belizean citizen was routed to another CARICOM member state instead of being repatriated home. Today, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Immigration, Tanya Santos, indicated that the Belizean national had the option of returning to Belize, but said the decision on where he ultimately landed was his personal choice.
Tanya Santos Neal ,CEO, Ministry of Immigration: “One of the conditions of a safe third country agreement is that you can choose which country you want to go to. And my understanding is that this person chose not to come to Belize. Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I’m sure they will make sure that this person is safe and protected in that country. But if he doesn’t want to come home, you know, we can’t force him. I don’t know the details. I don’t even know the name of the person, but that’s the information I got. We’re getting help with the IOM, International Organization for Migration, and they’re helping us to identify who it is and what the issue was. He’s free. He’s going to be living in St. Kitts, and I suspect that they have their own arrangements with the Americans for support for these people who go to us as safe third country refugees.”
The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has maintained that all relevant immigration, national security, and law enforcement agencies were involved in the transfer process and says the individuals are free to return to their countries of nationality, subject to immigration requirements.
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