Missing deportees will be prosecuted

On Friday we reported on efforts of the police department to keep tabs on Belizeans who have been deported back home after serving time for crimes committed in the U.S.A. Today the police have announced that effective November first, any deportees who fail to keep their weekly appointment with the law will be prosecuted. According to a government press release, this has become necessary due to the increasing number of deportees who have failed to check in regularly. Before being charged, the missing offender will have his or her name and photograph published in the newspaper. Cases will then be brought in Magistrate’s Court where a fine or jail time may be imposed. In related news, diplomatic sources tell News 5 that a large number of Belizeans currently in U.S. prisons should soon become eligible for deportation. Among that number are several dozen Belizean members of New York street gangs who were convicted following a 1998 mass roundup by the N.Y.P.D.