U.S. to fly some Mexican immigrants home
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Illegal immigrants from the interior of Mexico caught crossing the Arizona border this summer will be offered trips back to their hometowns as part of an effort to stem the tide of deadly treks across the blazing Sonora desert.
Under a joint U.S.-Mexican pilot program unveiled Tuesday, Mexican nationals charged with illegal entry in Arizona will be offered a trip all the way back home instead of being returned only to the U.S.-Mexican border, where they would have to choose between finding their own way home or making another attempt to enter the United States across the often precarious desert.
The program, which will start in July and end by the end of September, will be voluntary. Mexicans who refuse the offer will be taken to the border for repatriation "by regular means," according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
The program marks continued cooperation between the United States and Mexico over immigration issues.
In January, Mexican President Vicente Fox offered support for President Bush's proposal to grant temporary guest worker status to illegal immigrants in the United States.
Bush proposed changing U.S. immigration laws to allow illegal immigrants to obtain legal status as temporary workers in jobs U.S. employers were unable to fill with Americans.
The plan would allow undocumented workers to obtain three-year temporary visas, renewable once. After those visas expire, the workers could apply for U.S. citizenship but would not be given preferential treatment over others, the Bush administration said.
Fox, who has called for blanket amnesty of illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States, said the proposal would be "a very important step forward for many Mexican workers in the United States."
Under the new program to return immigrants who are caught, those who avail themselves of the program will be flown from Tucson, Arizona, to either Mexico City or Guadalajara, then given a bus ride to their final destination.
"The goal of this program is to save lives by safely returning Mexican nationals to their homes, away from the dangers of the Arizona-Sonora desert where smugglers and the harsh summer climate contributed to the deaths and injuries of illegal border crossers," said DHS Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, who oversees border security.
The program will only apply to the Arizona-Sonora border region, and only Mexican nationals who live in the interior of the country will be eligible, according to the department.
Immigrants who express a desire to be returned home will be interviewed by the staff of the Mexican consul in Nogales, Arizona, which will beef up its staff as part of the program.
Immigrants charged with a crime other than illegal entry won't be eligible.
At the conclusion of the pilot program, "the two governments will evaluate the repatriation program and recommend future plans," according to the statement.
