August 8, 2008
Consulate cautions Mexican nationals at O'Hare
By SOPHIA TAREEN
Associated Press Writer

The Mexican Consulate in Chicago issued a warning Friday evening to Mexican nationals to carry proper identification and be cautious when arriving or going to meet relatives or friends at the world's second busiest airport.

The consulate has reviewed at least a dozen instances this year in which people traveling from Mexico to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were detained while U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested family members or acquaintances waiting to pick them up, officials said.

In those instances most arriving from Mexico were either U.S. citizens or had valid documentation such as a visitor's visa, the consulate said.

"We have to let the people know that they are at risk of being detained," consulate official Ioana Navarrete said. "It's something that has escalated."

In one case, a U.S. citizen minor was allegedly detained while agents asked him about the whereabouts of his parents, who were illegal immigrants and had come to the airport to pick him up. CBP agents then asked for the parents through an airport speaker system, consulate officials claimed.

CBP spokeswoman Cherise Miles declined to discuss specific cases Friday.

"CBP strives to treat all travelers with respect and in a professional manner while maintaining the focus of our mission which is to protect all citizens and visitors in the United States," she said.

Miles said agents at a port of entry can — during the course of duties — arrest any person who is in the U.S. unlawfully. The rules apply at airports, sea ports or land border crossings.

"Anyone in the U.S. unlawfully should not be surprised if they are encountered or arrested to be placed in removal proceedings," Miles said.

Anti-illegal immigration groups, including the Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration, said it endorses any tactics used by CBP agents to arrest undocumented immigrants.

"The federal government is doing its job," said the group's executive director Dave Gorak. "It's not a question of whether it's right or wrong, it's the law."

But immigrant rights advocates said detaining U.S. citizens or foreign visitors with valid visas to arrest their family members brings up ethical issues.

"They (federal agents) seem to be desperate to capture people to prove that they are enforcing the law. They are going to go to any extreme," said Jorge Mujica, an activist with Chicago's March 10 Coalition. "That doesn't at all solve the immigration question."

For months immigrant advocacy groups in Chicago have been telling undocumented immigrants not to enter O'Hare or the city's Midway International Airport, Mujica said.

In its warning, the Consulate in Chicago — which in June and July has processed more passports and "matricula consular" identity cards than any other Mexican consulate in the U.S. — urged Mexican nationals to carry "genuine and valid identification" when at the airport.

It also reminded individuals that "authorities may seek to identify and verify their legal stay in this country."

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