Friday - August 31, 2007

For Deportation to Work, it Needs Border Enforcement

My guess is that the Reuter reporter's intention in her article, Deportees use "revolving door" to return to U.S., is to positively portray the pluckiness and determination of the deported illegals who return back to the United States.  Of course, I could be wrong.  But the one thing that should be taken away from this article is that deportation is nearly meaningless if we don't guard our borders.

When a heavy knock came on the door of her Phoenix home, Mari knew that the immigration police had finally caught up with her. Arrested and held for a month in a U.S. jail, she was sent back to Guatemala on a prison flight.

But four weeks later, after raising a $5,000 smuggling fee, she was back with her family in Arizona.

As U.S. authorities step up deportations of illegal immigrants, a growing number of them, like Mari, are simply turning round and heading back stateside to rejoin families and resume their lives.

"Guatemala is no longer my home. All my roots are here in the country I have lived in since I was 15 years old ... I felt I had no option but to try to come back," said Mari, which is not her real name.

The little reported phenomenon of the repeat lawbreakers was highlighted by the high-profile case of Elvira Arellano, the Mexican illegal immigrant deported earlier this month for slipping back into the United States despite a previous removal in 1997.

"I know a lot of people in the same position as Elvira ... their whole life is here," said Mari's husband, Samuel, who is also an undocumented immigrant.

"If they throw them out of the country, sooner or later they will be back." Read more....

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

Author: The Machiavellian
Technorati Tags: Illegal immigration deportation
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