Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeanfromfillmore
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Under the program, undocumented immigrants from central and southern states in Mexico apprehended by the Border Patrol are given the opportunity to fly on a chartered flight from Tucson to Mexico City, where they are given bus tickets to return to their hometowns.
Ordinarily, undocumented immigrants from Mexico caught by the Border Patrol are simply returned to Mexico through ports along the border, where many simply reconnect with smugglers and attempt to cross illegally again.
Flying immigrants to Mexico City, more than 1,000 miles away, reduces the chance the migrant will try to sneak across the border again, Picard said.
"It breaks the link between the smuggled alien and the criminal smuggling organization that marches aliens through the desert, risking their lives through the extreme temperatures that Arizona brings in the summertime," Picard said.
From Oct. 1, 2010, through the end of June, 128 migrants have died in the Arizona desert, according to the website No More Deaths, a humanitarian group based in Tucson that tracks migrant deaths.
The repatriation program is run with the cooperation of the Mexican government.
But the U.S. pays for the cost of the flights and the bus tickets.
Mexican consular officials interview all migrants before they board the flights to make sure they are participating voluntarily, Picard said.
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If we have to catch them first, then this is not an amnesty program. Nobody who is actually caught by the US border patrol should be eligible for this program. Only those who voluntarily turn themselves in.
Shipping them back to their native towns is a good idea, but why does it have to be a plane ride? We bus them from Mexico City to their native town, why not bus them all the way back? It would be a lot cheaper.
Notice the Mexican consulate has to decided they want to make sure this is voluntary. That makes sense, we need permission to transport criminals prosecuted in the US through foreign territory.