USAID’s weighs In On Belize Amnesty Program’s Numbers

Mileydi Guilarte

In 2020, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration contributed five million U.S. dollars to Belize through its international partners. Most of these funds went to support the Government of Belize with the amnesty program. It was expected that as many as forty thousand irregular migrants would regularize their status. But, that was not the case. According to Gilroy Middleton, the Chief Executive Officer at the Ministry of Immigration, a little over twelve thousand irregular migrants applied under the program. The Deputy Assistant Administrator at USA ID was asked if they view this as a failure.

Mileydi Guilarte, Deputy Assistant Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development

“We had very  fruitful conversations yesterday with the foreign minister and the Prime Minister and we were noting and underscoring the importance of Belize being a partner in this shared challenge in the region as it relates to migration. And I think, Belize, and we communicated this, has really become a model in many ways in our region for looking for all types of solutions to integrate migrants, so looking at sustainable solutions. And I think this is definitely, it’s in the beginning stages. We’re trying to identify any gaps and challenges where we may be able to assist. I think the announcement that I made today is in support of that. So no, I would not say that it is in any way a failure, but actually something that a lot of the neighbors in the region should, should see as a model for looking at how to solve some of the challenges related to migration.”