Mexico begins repatriation of 7,000 C American undocumented immigrants

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007- ... 541353.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-16 09:59:10 Print

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Mexico has begun the repatriation of some 7,000 Central American undocumented immigrants, mostly to Honduras and Guatemala, local newspaper Sol de Mexico quoted government officials as saying on Wednesday.

The Central Americans were stranded in the southeastern states of Tabasco and Chiapas after a regional train service suspended operations in late July.

They were arrested while walking along the railroad line to the eastern coastal state of Veracruz, 400 km away, from where they hoped to board a train bound for the Untied States.

The first batch of 350 migrants have arrived in Mexico's southern border city of Tapachula, from where they will be transferred to Guatemala on Tuesday night.

Hundreds of such illegal immigrants enter Mexico through its southern border every day, hoping to cross the country and enter the United States in search of a better life.
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178 undocumented Central Americans detained in Mexico

www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-25 11:03:51

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A total of 178 Central American illegal immigrants were discovered and detained when traveling in a truck in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) said on Friday.

The immigrants were traveling hidden in the truck's false-bottom refrigeration box, which was pretending to transport lemons, the INM was quoted by the press as saying.

The arrested immigrants include 78 Guatemalans, 58 Salvadorans and 42 Hondurans, among which 42 are women and seven are minors. They all lacked official papers to reside in Mexico, INM officials said.

The truck driver has been arrested and accused of people-trafficking.

So far in 2007, over 10,000 people have been smuggled into Mexico across the Guatemalan border, according to INM statistics.