Thread: Juárez mayor criticizes U.S. deportations

Juárez mayor criticizes U.S. deportations

By Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times
Posted: 08/12/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

Criminals add to city's problems, Ferriz says

EL PASO -- Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz said Tuesday that dumping thousands of U.S.-jailed criminals from Mexico in his violence-torn city worsens an already bad situation.

He said the U.S. government empties its jails and deports 7,000 criminals each year to Juárez.

"They need to be sent to Mexico City and distributed back to their communities," Ferriz said Tuesday at the Border Security Conference at the University of Texas at El Paso.

He also defended the use of Mexican soldiers to help civilian law enforcement crack down on drug dealers and other organized criminals.

He said the rise in crimes such as bank robberies, ATM thefts, store robberies and vehicle thefts showed that Joint Operation Chihuahua has managed to hurt the drug dealers' cash flow. Drug dealers are turning to other crimes to make up for the loss in drug proceeds.

Juárez officials said Mexican soldiers are expected to end their patrols when a new 1,400-member city police force hits the streets next month, four months ahead of schedule.

"The army had said it would not help with police patrols until the police force was cleaned up," Ferriz said.

Getting rid of corruption meant firing 300 police officers, and training recruits to replace them and others who retired early or failed to show up for the confidence exams others had failed.

About 5,000 soldiers are taking part in Joint Operation Chihuahua in Juárez as part of Mexico's national war against the drug cartels. The joint force includes city, state and federal police and the military.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the conference's keynote speaker, said she is aware the Mexican government is concerned about the U.S. deportations, which technically are removals.

"We are not going to stop deporting people, let me be clear on that," Napolitano said during a news conference at UTEP. "But as to where and when we deport people, we may make some adjustments to that."

Richard Rocha, spokes man for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, said ICE removed 85,425 criminal aliens to Mexico during fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30.

Of those, ICE removed 6,844 through its El Paso field office. Rocha did not have an exact breakdown, but speculated that most of the 6,844 people were from Mexico and the rest from other countries.

"Criminal aliens are removed through various of our field offices, not just El Paso," Rocha said.

Panelists at the conference discussed other issues, also.

Ferriz and other speakers -- including U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.; author and UTEP Professor Kathleen Staudt; and Rodger Garner, the Mexico mission director for the U.S. Agency for International Development -- recommended investing more into Mexico's socio-economic infrastructure to increase employment, reduce violence and improve quality of life.

The Agency for International Development's budget for Mexico for fiscal year 2008 was $23 million, mostly for health, educational and judicial reform programs, Garner said.

Other speakers said most U.S. assistance for Mexico was going to military and law enforcement training and hardware, such as the $1.5 billion Merida Initiative.

Filner said the U.S. government poured millions dollars after World War II into rebuilding Japan and Germany, which became economic powerhouses. "Why not help the economy of a friendly nation (Mexico) and use spending to create jobs?" he asked.

Ferriz said Juárez erred when it invested too much into the 30-year maquiladora industry's infrastructure and not enough into strengthening the city's social fabric.

Staudt said a typical salary in Mexican border cities was $4.50 a day, which fell to $3.70 a day after the recession kicked in.

"We need trade policies that allow people to earn living wages in their own countries," she said.

About 700 people attended the conference, which ended Tuesday.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_13041906? ... ost_viewed

"They need to be sent to Mexico City and distributed back to their communities," Ferriz said Tuesday at the Border Security Conference at the University of Texas at El Paso.

So what's the problem? Let Mexico pick em up at Juarez and send them where ever they want too. Oh...he thinks WE should pay to transport them to Mexico City LOL

Please read and sign

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-166365.html