BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 3, 2016–A Belizean woman from the village of Progresso in the Corozal District is distraught after her birth certificate was allegedly listed by the Vital Statistics Unit as one of the documents in a purported identity scam.
According to Jazminie Lino, 29, she went to the Vital Statistics Unit today, Thursday, to apply for her birth certificate and those of her children.
While she was able to get those documents belonging to her children, she was prevented from getting hers because her identity has been linked to that of a Mexican woman.
She told our newspaper tonight that officials at the Vital Statistics Unit told her that dozens of birth certificates for villagers in Progresso are under question after a man known only as “Garcia” had been investigated for an identity scam in which Belizean identities are sold to Mexican nationals.
It appears that the identity scam is to facilitate Mexicans who may want to “legally” enter the United States.
Despite being able to present her Social Security identification card and being able to prove that her parents were Belizean nationals by birth, Lino was still prevented from accessing her birth certificate.
She told Amandala that she and her husband will explore all potential avenues to have this matter settled.
Amandala will continue to monitor what seems to be just another instance of corruption in the current UDP administration.