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Mexico, City September 30, 2004 -- “The Voluntary Repatriation program has served its primary purpose - it saved lives,” said Ambassador Tony Garza on the day that the pilot program ended. “Although even one death is too many, deaths due to exposure dropped to 43 during the period of the repatriation. During the same period last year death by exposure took the lives of 80 migrants,” he added.
“This program shows the strong cooperation Mexico and the United States can bring to resolving problems along our 2000 mile border. I congratulate the many officials in both countries who successfully implemented the vision put forward by Secretaries Creel and Ridge when they met in Mexico City in February, 2004,” said the Ambassador.
The internal repatriation program began on July 12 and ended on September 30. During that time more than 14,000 Mexican citizens voluntarily chose to return to their homes after being detained in the United States for crossing into the U.S. without proper documentation.
Due to the especially harsh conditions in the Sonora desert during the summer months, both governments resolved to take actions that would allow people to escape the clutches of unscrupulous “polleros” who were putting them in danger through these desert crossings. The program offered the detainees the option of being repatriated all the way to their hometowns, rather than simply being repatriated to Mexican territory at the nearest border crossing.
A binational working group will analyze the results of the program in the near future and provide recommendations to the governments of both countries.
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