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What Does A New Office Mean For Immigration Dept Records?
posted (September 14, 2017)
Last night, we brought you coverage of the Senate Hearings on Immigration where Immigration Director Diana Locke returned to testify for a second time. She was discussing the changes implemented since 2014 up until the present moment to correct weaknesses in the Department's systems.

Well, one big change that is coming is that the Immigration Department will be moving to another office. Now, the last time this intended shift to a new location made our newscast was when the Ministry of Immigration was considering buying Senate President Lee Mark Chang's building in Belmopan.

They've since moved on from that option, and a decision has been made they will move in with the Refugee Department that is currently renting office space.

The problem with that is that they are getting reduced space in a time when they need more than what they currently have at this present office. The department is running out of space to store all the passport applications that are in their possession, and the Department is considering destroying some records, if they have the legal mandate to do so.

The trouble is that if the Department starts destroying files, then a complete audit called for by the Auditor General in her reports will not be possible. In her report on Nationality, she recommends, quote "The Director, Immigration and Nationality should ensure that… A thorough Audit is executed countrywide at all Ports of Entry to identify persons who entered Belize with and without visas issued, who were subsequently issued Belize nationality fraudulently from the year 2000." End quote.

Then, in her passport report, the Auditor General recommends once again, quote,"The Director of Immigration and Nationality must ensure that: A thorough investigation is conducted into Nationality by Registration. ALL nationality certificates and Passport applications from 21st September 1981 to present, be examine to determine if the applicants and certificates were genuine..." End quote.

Yesterday, Director Locke told the Senate Select Committee that those when the Immigration Department moves in with the Refuge Department, those files won't be able to come along. Here's how she explained it:

Diana Locke - Director of Immigration
"We have a container which is air conditioned, where the passport records are being stored. Those records date back from 2005 to present. We're running out of space. I'm not sure at what point. We're trying to get - I have approached the Auditor General, and I have asked her if she can asked her if she can guide us as to what documents we can destroy, if we can destroy any, because we are running out of space in terms of store passport records. Passport records are also stored overseas at the missions, where passport are issued. They are also stored at each of the stations that have a passport processing station. So, all those records are not kept in one location. Basically, they are not - in some cases - properly stored, and that's a risk that we are encountering. But, we have to try to work our way through them by getting them properly stored in boxes. It's a whole project on its own. Our preference would be to have those documents scanned. I am not sure legally. We're trying to find out whether or not if we scan them, does that remove the requirement for us to keep them, and for how long? So, those are things that we are looking at. We must go through those documents, and they must be reviewed by audit. And that has to happen within the next 3 months at the latest, because we're moving and those documents cannot go with us. There would be no space for them in the new location that we're moving. So, those must be addressed, within - I would say - a 2 to 3-month period."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"I'm very concerned by your comment when you said that you need some direction as to whether you would be able to destroy some documents or not because you're moving to a new place, and you won't have space. I'm confused by that statement because I would have thought that when you moved, you would have moved to a place that you have more space. So, can you lend some clarity to that?"

Diana Locke
"A decision was taken that the department will relocate, and we are going to share a space with the Refugee Department. So, we do not have the entire building."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"So, you would be moving, and you will be having less space, actually, is what you're saying."

Diana Locke
"To some extent yes."

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