Frontera NorteSur October 2000

As the sixth anniversary of Operation Guardian approaches, migrant support groups are preparing a series of protests against the operation.

"We do not know with precision what we are going to do, but it will be an energetic protest against the operation that has taken the lives of many," said Claudia Smith, coordinator of the Rural Legal Assistance Foundation of California.

This year there have been 113 reported deaths of migrants trying to cross into the United States.  The majority of the deaths have occurred in the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona areas.  Last year 11 deaths were reported.

Smith considers the numbers conservative considering that American authorities recognize the possibility of finding more bodies in the desert, mountains and canals.

Last week at the San Diego, Yuma and Imperial Valley ports of entry the border patrol initiated rescue operations using military helicopters due to the rising death rates in said areas.

Source:  La Crónica, September 19 2000.  Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

Emigrant Protection Group Wanted for Cd. Juárez Area

According to Ricardo Martínez Dozal of the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM), the INM hopes to create a civil protection group in the Ciudad Juárez area that will rescue, help and guide both Mexican, Central American and other emigrants along the border. Martínez also said that through the Consejo Consultivo de Apoyo al Migrante (a migrant support council) a meeting was held between private groups, government organizations and NGO's to organize this emigrant support group. If the above mentioned groups fail to meet their desired goal then a Beta group will be formed in Cd. Juárez. Beta is a government group that already performs many of the proposed group's functions along the border. However, Beta also arrests traffickers (coyotes) and illegals from Central America and elsewhere.

The support group's goal is not to arrest emigrants trying to go to the US but rather to help endangered emigrants in any way possible. The group's members would be trained to perform rescues in the river and in the desert.

Martínez added, "Although we should point out that Chihuahua has not experienced the sort of horrible events that have occurred in other states we should not wait until they occur. We should get to work now. We have to take preventive measures so that later we don't have to lament the loss of life."

Source: El Diario, September 1, 2000. Article by Rosario Reyes.

Méxicali INM Advises of Migrant Registration Deadline

Immigrants that entered Mexico before 1998 have until the September 30, 2000 to register with the National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migracíon, INM) to gain legal migratory status. 

To date, two hundred foreigners have filed to legalize their migratory status, most of whom are from Central America.  Citizens from China, Italy, and Spain have also shown interest.  Of this number, 150 have received the papers they have requested.  To apply under the program a foreigner must have either entered Mexico before 1998,  must be related to a Mexican citizen or naturalized foreigner, or have a current, stable employer or job offer.

After the September deadline, new operations will be carried out against foreign immigrants.

Source:  La Crónica, September 10, 2000. Article by Edgar Fabián Chávez.

Immigration from Central America on the Rise in Méxicali

The National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migracíon, INM) released a statement stating that immigration from Central America is on the rise.  "We have noticed an increase particularly in Salvadoran immigrants in the last few weeks," said Julieta Olmeda, a spokesperson for the INM.

The most recent case was on Friday when Méxicali police found a group of 17 Salvadoran inside a home in the San Marcos subdivision.  Olmeda indicated that the majority of these immigrants arrived in inhuman conditions.  "Some of them have gone hours even days without eating or drinking water," Olmeda stated. The INM said that early Sunday the immigrants were deported via airplane.

Investigations by the INM state that the immigrants contracted with polleros in their own country.   Each immigrants paid the pollero between $3,500 and $4,500 to bring them into the United States.  The immigrants reportedly paid half before their trip and the rest would be paid by family members upon their entering the US.  The immigrants were enroute to New York, Washington, and Los Angeles.

Source: La Crónica, September, 11, 2000. Article by Edgar Fabian Chávez.

Group Walk Protests Migrant Deaths

The sun rose Sunday morning to the light of 80 candles and the sound of 160 feet walking through the desert. The "Day of the Migrant" was marked by a 19 kilometer walk through the desert in remembrance of the people who have died trying to cross illegally into the United States. The crowd was headed by a white cross which was to be erected beside the All American Canal (Canal Todo Americano).

The walkers moved attentively through the site of many border crossings as if looking for a fellow migrant. They walked to the Guardian Hill (El Cerro Del Centinela) where a mass led by Tijuana Bishop Rafael Romo Muñoz was held. The United States Border Patrol made an appearance just before the beginning of the mass being that the walkers were a mere 200 meters from their territory. One missionary said "Ahí viene la migra, vámonos (Here comes the Border Patrol, let's get out of here)" in implied reference to what an immigrant would say.

After mass the missionaries continued to walk along the All American Canal until they arrived to a spot known as the "Bordo Cortado" near the Santa Isabel colonia. There they placed a cross bearing the names of the 175 people who died trying to enter the US. They also placed 30 crosses in cement filled gallon jugs to signify the people who have died this year from a lack of water in the desert. Nearby, 200 empty gallon jugs were placed on the fence of a sentry house symbolizing the deaths of those that have died due to sun stroke and dehydration while trying to cross the border into the area around Calexico,CA.

Méxicali Bishop José Ulises Macías who performed the mass said that these types of walks were very important and he encouraged future demonstrations in support of immigrants. The demonstrators finished by singing the song of a migrant, the first two verses of which follow. "A river of tears blooms on the border near the ocean because of all of the migrants who died there from Operation Guardian. The migra digs and digs his fangs into all of the country's borders and the baddly named 'illegals' only cry out for the right to live.

Source: La Crónica, September 4, 2000. Article by José Manuel Yépiz Ruiz.

Cd. Juárez Overwhelmed by Human Trafficking

The National Immigration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migración, INM) is overwhelmed by the migration rate along the Cd. Juárez border. According to Ricardo Martínez Dozal, Regional Delegate for the INM, the heavy flow of migrants who cross into the United States through the Juárez Valley can be explained by his department's lack of sufficient, competent personnel for interdiction purposes. In contrast, Martínez Dozal boasted about the INM's tighter security measures at the local airport.

However, according to El Norte, there exists just 300 meters from the airport a large center of operations for human trafficking where polleros and owners of immigrant safe houses operate with impunity.

Martínez Dozal responded to this by saying that, "It's easier to identify immigrants than traffickers."  He added that this year the INM has detained 4,000 migrants and 65 presumed polleros.  These figure are reportedly much larger than last year's.  "We need to reinforce (with more personnel) first of all to provide better service, and to make an effort to provide increased security to citizens by fighting the trafficking of humans," Martínez Dozal stated.

Martínez Dozal avoided answering questions based on an El Norte story regarding the supposed extortion of immigrants by law enforcement saying only that he saw no such indications of abuse, "When a law-enforcement officer detains a presumed illegal, the detained person is questioned on whether or not he or she has experienced any abuse.  If the answer is a positive one logically we bring it to the attention of the law-enforcement organization that is involved.  I want to state that in all the time I've been here, there has never been such a case, maybe because of fear or because there was never such a case."

According to Martínez Dozal, under the Ley General de Población (an immigration law) any person or law-enforcement organization can inform the INM about the presence of undocumented foreigners in the country. Groups that help the INM are according to Martínez Dozal, the local police, the state police (PJE), the Army and the Centro de Salud.

In a separate immigration story in El Diario, The Center for Migrant Support (Centro de Apoyo al Migrante, CAM) announced that it will host various seminars on human rights issues for public safety officials. The CAM is preparing to speak to law-enforcement groups to explain to them that illegals are not threats to the community. It is the CAM's position that after their long journeys north the undocumented foreigners should be helped because the people are usually tired and hungry and should not have to deal with police assaults.

Source: El Norte, September 12, 2000. Articles by Pablo Hernández Batista and Francisco Raúl Robles.

Pollero Found Guilty in San Diego

A pollero, or guide of undocumented immigrants, was found guilty of 19 charges including the death of a Mexican immigrant that died in a freak snowstorm while attempting to cross to the US.

A San Diego federal court found pollero Juan Ramírez López guilty of trafficking illegal immigrants, of endangering their lives in a rough area and of abandoning one of them in unexpected snowstorm that whipped through the mountains on the California border in March, 2000.

The federal prosecutor Gregory Vega stated that the court took into account that Ramírez guided undocumented immigrants for personal gain and that he abandoned one member of his party that could not continue because of the cold. After abandoning the individual Ramírez continued on with the other 25 members of the group that were inadequately dressed for the weather.

On the same day that this occurred two other people not in Ramírez's group froze to death while seeking to enter the US.

Federal prosecutor Vega added that the decision against Ramírez demonstrates the US government's resolve to combat the trafficking of undocumented persons and activities that put immigrants at risk for personal gain.

Tijuana DIF Aids 899 Migrants This Year
 
Tijuana's Family Development program (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, DIF) reported that 899 people have benefited from services offered through migrant support programs.  DIF dedicates itself to helping migrants with documentation processes, food, clothing and other needs.

Lourdes Ackelundh, Tijuana DIF coordinator, stated that among the 899 people served 18 were foreigners. Among the foreigners were four from Guatemala, and two each from El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Nicaragua and the Ukraine.

Most of the people aided were from Sonora, Jalisco, Michoacán, Sinaloa, the State of Mexico, and Mexico City. Among those from Mexico were 311 from Sonora, 96 from Jalisco, 91 from Michoacán, 78 from Mexico City, 72 from Mexico State, 67 from Chiapas, 56 from Guerrero, 50 from Oaxaca, 46 from Veracruz, 39 from Puebla, 37 from Guanajuato, 24 from Nayarit and  Southern Baja California, 20 from Tabasco, 16 from Durango and Morelos and 15 from Hidalgo.

Ackelundh also stated that among the benefits provide were 589 migrant credentials, 570 food donations, 384 employment placement services, 200 clothing donations and 187 donations in transportation aid.

DIF also coordinates with other government agencies that help migrants.  Most migrants arrive to Tijuana on their way to the United States.

Training Scholarships for Mexican Immigrants in BC

Baja California Governor Alejandro González Alcocer initiated on Monday, September 11, 2000 the Training and Employment Scholarships for Immigrants (Becas de Capacitación y Empleo para Migrantes) which will serve to help those that arrive to the state seeking a better standard of living.

Economic Development Secretary (Secretario de Desarrollo Económico) Juan Antonio Martínez Zaragoza noted that those benefiting from the program are people living in the Maná, Juvenil Del Desierto, Casa Del Migrante Betania, and the Comedor Buen Samaritano shelters. Capable immigrants in these shelters will be trained and then given local jobs.

Companies that support this program are ACE, Conexant, Melco Display Devices, Alligiance [sic], Price Fister [sic], Technok Zahori and Obes.

The state will let workers participate in the training program even if they do not have the necessary papers. Later, the state will apply for the workers' papers without any cost to the workers.

Express Lane Between Tijuana and San Diego

42,000 cars cross daily between Tijuana and San Diego, California.  The opening of the Sentri Line (Linea Sentri) on Friday, September 8 will shorten commutes from as long as three or four hours to just three minutes. Tijuana Mayor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid, stated that the new line between Tijuana and San Isidro was less complicated and would decrease commuting times significantly.

Programs such as these are necessary because the Tijuana-San Diego area is projected to have a large population increase in the near future.   It is projected that with it's 5.8% annual growth rate, Tijuana will double its population in twelve years.  San Diego is expected to double its population in 25 years.

There are also plans for a new international crossing for which 48,000 meters of land have been set aside in Mesa de Otay.  The same has been done in San Diego. It is not known when work there will begin.

Border Patrol Warns Immigrants of Military Practice Bombing Ranges

Officials from the Air Force base outside Yuma, Arizona and the United States Border Patrol released a statement advising immigrants of the dangers of crossing through areas designated for military bombing exercises.

Mark Carter the spokesperson for the base indicated that various countries use the land for military exercises in which they launch missiles and explosives. Carter indicated that in some cases the explosives, which can be the size of a footprint, don't detonate on contact.  He indicated that their is a chance that upon stepping or hitting the missile it could explode, killing the person or persons in the area. Cyrill V. Atherton, supervisor for the Yuma County Border Patrol stated that the majority of the people found to be crossing these lands have been illegal immigrants from Mexico.

The three military bombing sites cited were the Chocolate Mountains located in the northwest of Yuma with 1,865 square kilometers of land,  the Barry M. Goldwater site located to the north of Yuma with 3,108 sq. kilometers, and the Kofa site located northeast of Yuma with approximately 2,590 square kilometers.

Illegal Immigrants in Tijuana

Roberto Pérez Jacobo, an immigration official with the Instituto Nacional de Migración (National Migration Institute), said that in August, 2000 seventy foreigners, mostly Central Americans, were detained for deportation in Tijuana. In an interview yesterday Pérez said that most of the illegals were apprehended in the Tijuana International Airport which they tried to use to illegally enter the US.

During the month of August 4 people from Brazil were detained, 16 from China, 2 from Columbia,1 from Ecuador, 21 from Guatemala, 16 from Honduras, 8 from Iraq and 2 from El Salvador. Pérez pointed out that the 16 Chinese were arrested the moment they landed at the local airport with fake passports. They were then sent to Mexico City for deportation.