US Gov’t. To Train Over 600 Immigration Officers

The United States Government has reached an agreement with its Liberian counterparts to train at least 600 Immigration officers to use firearms to be adequately prepared to protect Liberia’s borders.
The Commissioner General of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), Robert Budy, made the pronouncement recently when he visited the Carey Street Intellectual Forum in Monrovia and clarified that the physical training will be carried out by the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Liberian National Police but every financial cost attached to the training will be handled by the United States Government.
The well-experienced security officer with close to 30 years in national service, which comprises of 19 years with the LNP and 10 years in the LIS declared that it is their prime duty to protect the territorial boundaries of Liberia and curb trans-national crimes committed at the borders.
The LIS boss named some of the transnational crimes occurring at the various borders as illicit and addictive drugs, illegal entry of firearms and human trafficking which is a serious human rights violation noting that in order to protect Liberia’s border amid such serious cross-border problems, Immigration officers need to be equipped both technically and logistically to carried out their mandate.
Commissioner Budy expressed satisfaction and praised the US Government for stepping in to build the capacity of his officers at a very crucial time when they need to meet up with national and international security benchmark.
According to him, Liberia has been used as a transit point for trafficking in person by closest neighbors which places the nation at type two in human trafficking; of which they are working assiduously to improve type one before the next UN evaluation to avoid international boycott.
“You know what that will mean for a country like Liberia that depend greatly on direct foreign aid,” he said.
Additional, the former LNP Deputy also informed the public to avoid panicking because very soon LIS officers will be heavily armed at the various borders to deter cross-border criminals from using Liberia as their transit point for human trafficking and other crimes.
Responding to whether the low salaries of his officers will not lead to compromise, the veteran law enforcement officer said while he wants his officers to be adequately paid, he disagreed with the notion that big salaries make people honest.
He stated that honesty is a virtue, a value, a characteristic and an upbringing that one desires to live with whether rich or poor and that is why the strength of the LIS is not measured in the number of the officers but the passion, dedication and commitment or willingness to serve their nation.
Budy concluded by reiterating that he will do everything humanly possible to improve the LIS status to international standard and make the entity great.