Mexico: top immigration official resigns in wake of massacre
Mexican immigration official quits after massacre
By ALEXANDRA OLSON (AP) – 1 hour ago
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's top immigration official resigned Monday in the wake of a massacre of 72 migrants that exposed how brutally drug cartels have come to control human smuggling routes in the country.
Cecilia Romero stepped down as head of the National Institute of Migration, a post she had held since the beginning of President Felipe Calderon's term in December 2006, the Interior Department said in a statement.
The statement gave no reason for her resignation, only praising Romero's efforts to modernize the institute, improve migrant shelters, and push through several accords with other countries to help make deportations more orderly.
A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, said the government was looking for someone with more experience in security to head the institute.
The official said the massacre three weeks ago highlighted how intertwined drug trafficking and illegal immigration have become in Mexico.
"She's revamped the institute and made it a more human and respectful place," the official said. "Given that organized crime has gotten into the business, we need a different type of head with a different type of background."
The bodies of the 72 Central and South American migrants were found Aug. 24 at a ranch about 100 miles (80 kilometers) south of Brownsville, Texas.
Police have arrested several alleged members of the Zetas gang, which they suspect killed the migrants after they refused to work as drug traffickers. It was Mexico's worst drug cartel massacre to date.
Drug cartels have long been increasingly controlling migration corridors in Mexico, migrants to pay for passage through their territory. Now, Mexican authorities say drug cartels are increasingly trying to recruit vulnerable migrants to smuggle drugs.
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