US Tactic Fails to Halt Mexican Immigrants' Attempts to Cross the Border The Associated Press
go to original July 19, 2014

Unauthorized immigrants wait to be sent home. (AP/LM Otero)
 
MEXICALI, Mexico — A U.S. effort to discourage immigrants' repeated attempts to enter the country illegally - dropping them back in Mexico hundreds of miles away from where they were caught - has been sharply scaled back because it produced relatively modest gains.

U.S. authorities insist the Alien Transfer Exit Program has contributed to overall achievements in border security.

They say the cutbacks reflect a need to shift resources to deal with Central Americans who are pouring into Texas.

The government has flown or bused hundreds of thousands of Mexican men to faraway border cities since February 2008. The goal was for the men to give up after being separated from their smugglers.

Government statistics and interviews with migrants in Mexican shelters, though, suggest that the dislocations are a relatively ineffective deterrent - especially for immigrants with spouses, children and roots in the United States.

After being dropped off, many get on another bus and head right back to where they started.

Once there, they reunite with their smugglers for another attempt, taking advantage of a standard practice that they pay only when they cross successfully.

Read the rest at TribLIVE

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