Voluntary Return Immigration Settlement with Mexican Nationals: What Happens Next? Leslie Berestein Rojas - KPCC
go to original August 29, 2014

Family members reunite through bars and mesh of the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Friendship Park on November 17, 2013 in San Diego, California. (John Moore/Getty Images)

A settlement that requires immigration officials to better inform immigrants of their rights before they agree to return to their native countries could allow some people who were repatriated to Mexico to come back to United States.
 
The settlement between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Department of Homeland Security stems from a 2013 lawsuit, filed by the ACLU on behalf of nine Mexican nationals and Southern California immigrant advocacy groups.
 
The plaintiffs alleged in the lawsuit that they were pressured by immigration authorities to sign what’s known as “voluntary return” or "voluntary departure" papers, with immigration authorities failing to inform them of their right to a hearing, or that they could be barred from the United States for ten years.

The complaint states that "the  immigration enforcement agencies operating in Southern California regularly pressure, deceive, and threaten Mexican nationals who are eligible to reside in the United States lawfully - and have built lives in the United States over decades - into signing their own expulsion orders."
 
Now, others who were voluntarily repatriated to Mexico from Southern California between 2009 and 2013 may be able to come back – provided they can prove they have the right to. Among other things, including their ties to the U.S. and good moral character, they’ll have to prove that they accepted a voluntary return and, if possible, come up with records.

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