Belize Receives Second Group Under US Safe Third Country Deal

Belize has received a second group of foreign nationals under its Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States.  A deportation flight landed at the Philip Goldson International Airport at eleven forty-eight this morning. Eighteen passengers aboard the flight were of interest to Belizean authorities.  Eleven were Belizean nationals deported from the United States. The other seven were foreign nationals transferred to Belize under the agreement, including four Haitians, one Nicaraguan, one Salvadoran and one Honduran.  Under the agreement, certain third-country nationals who seek protection in the United States can be sent to Belize, where their claims will be considered. It does not mean that Belize automatically accepts anyone the United States wants to send.  Each proposed transfer is considered individually. Belize carries out security and background checks and retains the right to accept or reject the person.  When the agreement went before the Senate on November 11, 2025, Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre explained its basic premise and argued that the arrangement would be limited and controlled. He said Belize would accept no more than ten people per year during the agreement’s initial two-year period.  

Hon. Anthony Sylvestre, Senator for Government Business: “We know that it is not every and anyone you give refuge or not every and anyone you let in your home. And this is precisely why, Madam President, the government has ensured that the agreement that has been signed has a number of safeguards to protect the interests and security of Belize including, as the Foreign Minister has stated, restrictions on nationalities that can be transferred. That is to say, it be limited to CARCOM Nationals and Central American Nationals excluding Guatemalans. There’s also the safeguard of consideration of professional skills and criminal record of the intended transferees. There’s also a cap on annual number of possible applicants. Further, there is a right of the government to terminate or suspend the agreement at any time. The United States for instance has entered into similar agreements with countries such as Canada and Guyana. Significantly Madam President, the agreement cannot and will not be operationalized until and unless the parties have developed operating procedures which contain gradual steps and address among other things procedures necessary to effect transfer of individuals under the agreement.”

The agreement drew strong criticism during and after the Senate debate. Questions were raised about national security, the cost to taxpayers, Belize’s ability to process asylum claims and whether the country could end up carrying responsibilities that properly belong to the United States.  The Government responded that Belize would keep control of the process, restrict the nationalities it accepts and reject anyone considered a threat to national security or public safety.  Two weeks ago, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oscar Arnold said each person is vetted through national and international systems before Belize gives approval. Further screening is carried out when the person arrives.  But while the agreement has moved from debate to actual implementation, how much do ordinary Belizeans know about it? Love News took that question to the streets of Belize City.

Citizen: “Belize will have to check them out. You don’t bring murderers in here, no crooks in here. They have to check them out and find out the reputation over there and if they have a good reputation you bring them in.”

Reporter: And do you think that’s a good idea for Belize to be a part of this agreement ? 

Citizen: “I think so. I think so. Because I live in the states fifty years and I’m old now so I come home so they gave me a chance over there, I didn’t mess up.”

Reporter: Do you know about safe third country agreement between Belize and the US? 

Citizen: “Well I haven’t heard about it.”

Citizen: “I don’t support it.”

Reporter: And you don’t want to share why ? 

Citizen: “No, not really but I don’t support that.”

Citizen: “I haven’t heard about it yet. If it has anything to do with asylum first thing I think Belize should look into how it can profit. Maybe Belize can look for if they are farmers or if they are craft builders or in any way that can benefit Belize.”

Reporter: So you support this agreement ? 

Citizen: “To an extent.”

Today’s transfer follows the arrival of a forty-one-year-old Haitian national on July 10. That first arrival, combined with today’s seven, brings the number of people transferred to Belize under the agreement to eight.