Note: this one worth a close read.
Naco, Sonora migrant resource center reduces hours
Sun, 05/08/2011 - 23:15
A mural at the Migrant Resource Center in Naco, Sonora, informs
people that the center offers help, information and food for free.
(Jonathon Shacat • Herald/Review)
BY JONATHON SHACAT
Herald/Review
http://www.svherald.com/content/news/2011/05/08/naco-sonora-migrant-
resource-center-reduces-hours
BISBEE — The migrant resource center in Naco, Sonora, has reduced
its hours of operation, and it recently closed the doors of its
nearby shelter.
The changes are the result of the fact that U.S. Border Patrol is no
longer repatriating illegal immigrants through the Naco Port of Entry.
The migrant center, which opened in January 2008, is now only open
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday through Saturday. The shelter, which
offered deported illegal immigrants a place to sleep since January
2009, closed in March. "It was the most expensive thing that we had,
so we had to close it," Cecile Lumer, co-founder of the center, said
of the shelter, adding it was costly to pay for the rent,
electricity, water, gas and other bills.
The significant reduction in the numbers of individuals deported
through Naco first became apparent late last spring, when Border
Patrol was repatriating many people to the interior of Mexico by
airplane. Since last summer, Border Patrol has stopped sending any
illegal immigrants through Naco.
Mark Adams, a coordinator of Frontera de Cristo, which helps oversee
the migrant resource center in Agua Prieta, Sonora, said their center
has reduced its hours of operation also because "there are no folks
being repatriated to AP, either." The Agua Prieta migrant center
will celebrate its fifth anniversary in June.
The centers in Naco and Agua Prieta helped thousands of individuals
over the years.
According to Margaret Case, a volunteer at the migrant center in
Naco, Sonora, during the U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector's
executive learning program for humanitarian/faith-based organizations
event in March, an official said people are not being repatriated at
Naco and Agua Prieta "because we've shown that this reduces
apprehensions in those areas and we've found that it keeps the
coyotes (smugglers) from getting back in contact with their
customers."
Case also recalled that "(The official) said, 'We expect to have
people processed at Naco in the future when we gain control of that
area.' And, he said, 'The ultimate goal is not to repatriate
anybody from anywhere in Arizona.' "
When asked in an email from the Herald/Review if the Border Patrol
plans to deport people through Naco and Agua Prieta in the near
future, Colleen Agle, public information officer for the agency's
Tucson Sector, replied "We are unable to discuss our operations, so
there isn't any information I can give you."
Peter Young, a volunteer at the migrant resource center in Naco,
Sonora, said the center remains open because it is providing very
important services to people. "We have been seeing a steady stream
of people every day. They come from other places and come back to
Naco, or they come to Naco because they hear our center is there,"
he said, adding the center links individuals to the Mexican
Consulate, which pays a portion of their bus fare to return home.
Patricia Hohl, another volunteer at the Naco, Sonora, migrant center,
said the center is a safe place to stay.
"We had an uncle and his 7-year-old niece who decided they were
going to go home. They spent several hours in the center and the 7-
year-old niece had crayons and paper and an area where there are no
polleros (smugglers)," she said. "They just know that they can
come here, get a cup of coffee, get a sandwich, rest and get
information."
"There are still stories and testimonies that we are taking," she
added. "We had 26 testimonies for the month of March from migrants,
who tell us what it was like when they crossed, what their conditions
were, whether they were deported, and whether they were in short-term
detention."
According to Lumer, the center's reports from 2008 to 2010 show
that, for the most part, illegal immigrants who were deported through
Naco by Border Patrol were given little or no food, which is in
violation of the standards set forth by the U.S. government.
The Herald/Review obtained a memo regarding "Hold Rooms and Short
Term Custody" dated June 2, 2008, that was sent to all chief patrol
agents by then-agency chief David Aguilar.
One section of it says "Detainees will be provided snacks and juice
every four hours. Detainees, whether in a hot room or not, will be
provided a meal if detained more than 8 hours or if their detention
is anticipated to exceed eight hours. Regardless of the time in
custody, juveniles will be provided with meal service, and at least
every six hours thereafter; two of three meals must be hot."
Lumer also pointed out there are testimonies of instances in Naco,
Sonora, from 2008 to 2010 when single women were repatriated after
dark, and family members, such as brothers or parents and their
children, were separated. Those types of practices also do not
conform to the government's procedures.
The "Local Arrangement for Repatriation of Mexican Nationals,"
dated April 2, 2009, signed by the Secretariat of Governance of the
United Mexican States, the Consulate of Mexico in Nogales, Phoenix,
Tucson and Douglas, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was
also obtained by the Herald/Review.
That document states "The unity of families should be preserved
during repatriation, within administrative parameters" and that
persons with special needs, such as women traveling alone, should be
repatriated "during daylight hours to ensure their safety."
Border Patrol declined to respond to a question concerning whether or
not any further or changed guidelines had been issued regarding
procedure for the treatment of individuals in the process of being
repatriated since the guidelines in the directives the Herald/Review
has obtained.
For information on volunteering at the center in Naco, Sonora, call
(520) 335-4790 or e-mail naco.migrant.center@gmail.com.
Note: growing number of Chinese detained not mentioned in this report.
Detain 4,427 undocumented during April
Three thousand 789 people were insured by the National Institute of
Migration and other 638 by different agencies
Mexico City | Sunday May 8, 2011
Gerardo Mejia | El Universal
17:20
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/764171.html
During April, the National Migration Institute (INM) said in 3,789
people in raids on roads and railways, of which 323 are 3000 men and
466 women, of whom 232 are minors.
He reported that 638 others were taken by other agencies, bringing
the total 4,427 illegal immigrants last month secured.
The INM said that these reviews are conducted with full respect for
human rights, which also allows safeguard the lives and safety of
people entering the country illegally, preventing them from being
victims of organized crime networks and ensuring their repatriation
in a dignified, swift, orderly and safe to their country of origin.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior (Interior Ministry)
reported that 638 foreigners were made available to the INM by
different authorities as a result of the operations conducted in
coordination with other agencies.
Total of 4,427 persons detained, 2,189 are of Guatemalan, Honduran
1,176, 551 from El Salvador, 54 from Nicaragua and the remaining 457
from other nationalities.
General Population Law in its Article 151 provides the power to the
INM for revisions to foreigners traveling through the country, "with
a view to providing adequate care if they do not prove their
immigration status regularly. "
spb / eca
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