US stops deporting undocumented immigrant criminals into Juárez
By Adriana Gómez Licón / El Paso Times
Posted: 03/29/2010 04:15:48 PM MDT

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers check vehicles heading south into Juarez recently at the Bridge of the Americas. The U.S. government has stopped deporting people with criminal records through the El Paso and Juárez bridges. (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)
EL PASO -- The U.S. government has stopped deporting people with criminal records through the El Paso and Juárez bridges, a Department of Homeland Security official said today.

Since March 4, police have been repatriating undocumented immigrants with criminal records through other border cities in Texas, such as Laredo, Del Rio and Eagle Pass.

Officials said leaving felons in the violence-plagued city of Juárez led to more crime. Drug-related gangs are known for recruiting prisoners out of El Paso in Juárez, say officials in Mexico.

Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz asked U.S. officials last summer to direct criminals away from Juárez. Reyes Ferriz said he was hopeful that sending these criminals through other border cities will help reduce drug cartel crimes in the deadliest city in North America.

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