On Jul 10, 2:23 pm, Don Gabacho wrote:
[...And Not Merely to the Border]:

Mexican migrants fly home under voluntary repatriation program
By Alexandre Meneghini, AP

Mexican migrants arrive at customs in Mexico's International Airport
after returning on a flight from Tucson, Arizona, Monday, July 9,
2007. A group of 74 Mexicans arrived as part of the voluntary
repatriation program between Mexico and the US.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Constantino Hernandez considered it a blessing when
U.S. authorities arrested him after walking for two days in the harsh
Arizona desert.

"I was rescued," said the 37-year-old Mexican migrant, who has been
going to the United States illegally to work in restaurants since
1992.

Hernandez was one of 74 migrants who flew to the Mexican capital
Monday under a U.S. summer program, now in its fourth year, that gives
participants free transportation all the way to their hometowns
instead of simply deporting them back across the border.

Washington touts the US$15 million (euro11 million) program as a way
to reduce migrant deaths during the hot summer, but critics argue it
does little to reduce total migration and only makes the journey
harder and more expensive for those who participate.

Through the end of September, thousands will volunteer for the twice-
daily charter flights between Tucson, Arizona, and Mexico City. From
there, they hop buses to their hometowns, often in poor southern
states such as Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Mexico | Arizona | Airport | Tucson | Mexicans

Since the program was launched in 2004, after years of record-setting
migrant deaths from exposure, more than 50,000 migrants have
participated.

Southwestern desert temperatures can soar to more than 100 degrees in
summer, and deporting migrants just across the border only encourages
them to try again at the next opportunity, officials say.

Hernandez said he volunteered to get a free trip to rest and visit his
family in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero. In a couple of weeks,
he said, he'll try his luck again in the desert.

"One has to go look for a better life," he said, "because we can't do
that here."

Does anyone still support the government in Washington, DC?

greg