U.S., Mexico reach agreement on migrant repatriation
U.S., Mexico reach agreement on migrant repatriation
By Lauren Villagran / Journal Staff Writer - Las Cruces Bureau
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 at 3:28pm
http://main.abqjournal.netdna-cdn.co...-2-640x478.jpgU.S. and Mexican officials sign nine agreements pertaining to the repatriation of Mexican citizens to Mexico, including of deported unauthorized immigrants. Back row, left to right: Mexico Ambassador to the United States Miguel Basáñez; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña; Alan Bersin, assistant secretary for international affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Front row, left to right: ICE Field Office Director for El Paso Corey Price; Waldemar Rodriguez, special agent in charge, El Paso Homeland Security Investigations; Hector Mancha, DHS director of field operations in El Paso.
EL PASO, Texas — The U.S. and Mexico governments on Tuesday signed a series of agreements dictating how, when and where unauthorized Mexican immigrants will be repatriated to their home country.
The series of nine agreements covers ports of entry from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, and sets out hyper-local terms for the return of unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable populations, as well as for the deportation of felons and migrants wanted for crimes in Mexico.
The accords come as repatriations to Mexico have fallen for seven consecutive years, according to Mexico’s National Migration Institute. U.S. Border Patrol apprehension statistics suggest far fewer Mexicans are migrating illegally to the U.S. compared with a decade ago.
U.S. and Mexico immigration and security officials met at an El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol station to sign the agreements, which were in the works for about a year.
Sarah Saldaña, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called Mexico “a willing and capable partner” that shares mutual goals “to treat people with respect, to return them to their countries of origin and to allow United States agencies like mine to ensure the security of the United States.”
“We have been working for many years on different sorts of arrangements to ensure that repatriation is more secure, more humane, safer for everyone involved,” said Carlos Pérez Verdía, undersecretary for North America for Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “What we’ve come down to now is local arrangements that are very flexible and put the migrant at the center.”
Only one of New Mexico’s three ports of entry are mentioned briefly in the agreement specific to El Paso-Ciudad Juárez, with the note that there will be no repatriations at Columbus-Palomas port of entry except under “established exceptions” and with prior notice to the Mexican government.
Many of the unauthorized immigrants held in New Mexico county jails on behalf of the federal government for immigration violations will find themselves deported to Ciudad Juárez on one of several international bridges.
The El Paso agreement stipulates that U.S. authorities will drop off deportees between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m., but those hours are reduced to 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for “vulnerable” populations including unaccompanied minors, pregnant women or those with medical needs.
During the crisis of drug violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico requested that the U.S. shift some repatriations to other parts of the border and stop returning people after dark. In 2010, the U.S. also stopped deporting felons to Ciudad Juárez.
The new agreement reinstates the deportation of felons and fugitives of Mexican justice to Ciudad Juárez but restricts such returns to specific bridges and times.
Repatriations to Mexico fell 32 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to Mexico’s National Migration Institute, from 300,000 migrants to 205,000 migrants.
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