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whom the international border with Guatemala means very little:
movement across it is traditional and largely unrestricted.
3. Police sources estimate that there are about 8,000 Guatemalans
living in Belize, a high proportion of whom are antagonistic to the government of Guatemala (although it must be said that the majority fled during a previous, non-democratic regime). New arrivals still appear, claiming that members of their families (often breadwinners)
have been "taken away" or have disappeared.
4.
Another prominent group is the Salvadorean one. No estimates
exist of numbers, but it must be in thousands rather than hundreds.
They tend to be treated as refugees proper (c.f the Valley of Peace project) rather more than other groups. There are recent indications
of an increase in arrivals from Nicaragua.
5. Mobility of Aliens It is not clear that, once they have arrived,
aliens necessarily stay in the country. There is a possibility that
in some cases they move on with the eventual aim of entering the USA,
possibly via Mexico.
6. Registration of Aliens Obviously if they are to acquire land
legally aliens need to formalise their position. Technically this is achieved in Belize by registration. However at present all applications by aliens to register as such are acknowledged by a document certifying that an application to register has been made. Whilst legalising the
position of the alien for the time being, it is not yet clear what possession of this document actually confers on them as the holder.
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/7. UNHCR
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