By Zoila Palma: About 125 immigration officers from across Belize have completed specialized training on the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), as the Department of Border Management and Immigration Services (DBMIS) moves to strengthen border management operations and standardize procedures at the country’s ports of entry.
The training followed a technical mission organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), led by MIDAS Headquarters Representative Boran Simsek and Regional Expert Antonio Meono, with IOM Program Officer Idelki Familia Jimenez participating alongside DBMIS personnel.
The mission combined a performance assessment of MIDAS with practical training on the system and the Standard Operating Procedures governing its use.
The initiative was carried out under the project “Border Management: Effective and Sustainable Management of Belize’s Southern and Western Borders,” implemented by IOM in partnership with the Government of Belize with financial support from the European Union under the Belize-European Union Multi-Annual Indicative Program.
Technical assessments were conducted at DBMIS headquarters in Belmopan, the Western Border and Philip Goldson International Airport, including reviews of MIDAS workstations and servers, document processing, secondary inspections, data exchange and Advance Passenger Information integration.
Lawrence Thompson, Director of Border Management and Immigration Services, said the training will help ensure officers apply consistent procedures across Belize’s ports of entry. “Our officers work at the frontline of Belize’s border management system every day, and their ability to use MIDAS effectively is critical to how we process travellers, manage information and maintain the integrity of our ports of entry,” Thompson said. “This training gives officers from across our border stations and the international airport a common set of procedures that they can apply in their daily work.”
MIDAS is used by DBMIS to register, process and manage traveller movements at the Northern, Western and Southern Borders, Philip Goldson International Airport, Big Creek Port and San Pedro seaport. Officers received training in traveller registration, arrival and departure processing, entry and exit requirements, data protection, information management, secondary inspections and exceptional cases. The sessions included live demonstrations, practical exercises and discussions using a dedicated training database.
The mission follows recent hardware upgrades to Belize’s MIDAS infrastructure and the integration of Advance Passenger Information data exchange, with IOM expected to document the findings, corrective actions, training outcomes and recommendations in a mission report.
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By Zoila Palma: About 125 immigration officers from across Belize have completed specialized training on the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS), as the Department of Border Management and Immigration Services (DBMIS) moves to strengthen border management operations and standardize procedures at the country’s ports of entry. The training followed a technical mission organized
The post Belize Immigration officers complete MIDAS training to strengthen border management appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.