We also took the opportunity to ask Elrington about the ban that the US Department of Homeland Security placed on Belizeans who are no longer eligible to get H2 or work visas.
The US Department of Homeland Security published a decision that Belize, Haiti and Samoa are to be put on a list of countries whose citizens can't get this class of visas.
The ban will last for 1 year, at least and the US Government's reason for it is that the authorities here are not doing enough to combat human trafficking. The Federal Register says, quote, "Belize is listed on the U.S. Department of State's 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report as a Tier 3'' country. Tier 3'' means the country does not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so."
This ban comes a month after the UN General Assembly vote where Belize joined 127 countries challenging the US for moving its Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem. Seasoned observers aren't surprised, and they suspect that the ban is connected to that. We asked Elrington about the possible co-relation, and he told us that from his perspective, there is none. Here's how he explained why he thinks it is pure co-incidence:
Daniel Ortiz
"Has that crossed your mind as Foreign Minister, or is that completely..."
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"No, actually, the Americans have indicated why. They have decided not to grant the visas, and the reason they are giving is that we have not complied with their expectation in terms of the human trafficking. That is something that they had been warning us about for some time now Human trafficking issue is a matter of grave concern to us, and it's also a grave concern to them. And they have formed the view, rightly or wrongly, that we are not doing sufficiently to satisfy them that in fact, we are serious about it. And so, with a view to try to pressure us to be more proactive in dealing with this very serious issue, they've decided to limit grant - or restrained, or restrict the granting of visas - certain type of visas at this time."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, for you, it's purely coincidental that those things happened in close proximity, in terms of timelines."
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"To my mind, [yes]."
You saw how Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte wasn't too pleased to learn about the ban. He has been working with the Government agencies to do all they can strengthen to Belize's systems, so that the country can better combat human trafficking. So, what is Elrington's perspective as the Former Attorney General? Here's the back and forth on that:
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you agree with that perspective, or is that an unreasonable conclusion to be drawn?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Certainly, I am aware of the fact that it is a matter which is discussed from time to time in our Cabinet, and I do know that the Attorney General has been working assiduously to try to deal with the matter. And it's something that I have talked to the police, since I have become responsible for them. These are issues which we have raised, but society has limitations, you know. We have serious limitations, and so, we may just not be able to do much more than we are doing. But, it is not because we are not trying. We have resource limitations. My own sense is that certainly, since Minister Peyrefitte became the AG, he has really been active in trying to ensure that we do all in our power to try to combat that scourge. But, as I said, we have our limitations."
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