A new Director of Immigration has been named, and she’s getting ready to take office.  Career Foreign Affairs Officer Diana Locke takes up the post of Director Of Immigration and Nationality Services tomorrow.  Locke confirmed it to us today saying, quote, “I look forward to my new challenge and serving the people of Belize in another capacity.â€￾  Locke had been at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 24 years – much of that spent involved with Immigration work for Foreign Affairs – so she is very familiar with the Department. 

She takes over from Maria Marin, who was at the helm from early 2013, during the Penner and post-Penner era, some of the most administratively difficult and most publicly scrutinized times in the Department’s history.  It emerged that something like a shadow department had been in operation during this period, facilitating nationality documents for phantom applicants of dubious origin. 

Marin demitted office on Friday April 29th.