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| Deportation policy irks Texas lawmakers, Mexican government | ||||
| 2003-10-02 | ||||
| Hattip to WND An experimental program that shipped thousands of undocumented Mexican immigrants from Arizona to Texas for deportation accomplished its purpose by reducing migrant deaths in Arizona, U.S. Border Patrol officials said. Meets humanitarian muster. They also credit the controversial Lateral Repatriation Program, which officially ended Tuesday, with discouraging hundreds of undocumented immigrants from attempting to re-enter the country illegally through Arizona. Keeps out more illegals. Looking good. But top Texas lawmakers and other critics said the program only shifted Arizona’s illegal immigration problem to Texas. They claim it was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Utoh gutterball. The program also is a sore subject with the Mexican government. It charged that children were separated from their families and that thousands of Mexicans were dumped far from home. Were they dumped any farther from home then they intended to go when they snuck across the border? And it remains to be seen whether most undocumented immigrants will give up trying to illegally enter the United States. That really would be contingent on the Mexican governemnt’s efforts to not have their country suck so much @#$%. Border Patrol officials began the program Sept. 8 in response to the high number of migrant deaths in the southern Arizona desert, a popular crossing point for undocumented immigrants and smugglers. They have not decided whether to restart the program. Restart the program immediately. It seems to be making all the right people angry. The agency moved about 6,239 undocumented Mexican immigrants arrested in Arizona to four Texas border cities - El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo and McAllen - between Sept. 8 and Sept. 30. Chartered planes were used at a cost of $28,000 per flight. Did each passenger have to show a photo ID? Also, Did the flights include a meal or just a small package of peanuts? Only 80 of the immigrants who were deported in Texas attempted to re-enter through Texas and even fewer returned to Arizona, said Mario Villarreal, a spokesman with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, which includes the Border Patrol. Sounds good. He said federal officials were not surprised at the program’s success because a similar tactic deterred undocumented immigrants in San Diego and Texas. He said moving immigrants hundreds of miles away discourages most from trying to re-enter the country and results in fewer deaths.
Does this include the illegals that got cooked in the locked semi-trailer? In the western Arizona desert corridor, the region with the highest number of migrant deaths, only one person was found dead last month, compared to 10 who died during the same period last year, said Villarreal. He said arrests of undocumented immigrants in the Tucson sector, which includes almost the entire state, also dropped to 915 in September compared with 1,100 during the same month last year. "We think the program was extremely successful, but we will evaluate it before we take any further action," Villarreal said.
Lets shoot for December next year. That’s not enough for Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, a vocal critic of the program. Sounds like there is appeasement rhetoric coming... "The worst thing that could happen would be for this program to become standard operating procedure," he said. Appeasement rhetoric on the way...
Denied ... appeasement rhetoric cancelled. Respect for Mr Bonila restored.
Bipartisan agreement. Much rejoicing. | ||||
| Posted by:Superhose |
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| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-2 2:46:47 PM |
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| Posted by: Jarhead 2003-10-2 1:37:24 PM |
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| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-2 12:00:33 PM |
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| Posted by: Shipman 2003-10-2 11:32:59 AM |
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| Posted by: Frank G 2003-10-2 11:15:55 AM |