U.S. Launches Program to Fly Illegal Mexicans Home

By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will start flying some illegal Mexican migrants to their hometowns next month as part of a controversial program aimed at reducing illegal immigration.

Homeland Security undersecretary Asa Hutchinson said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Mexican governments had reached an agreement for a pilot program to repatriate illegals found in the Arizona-Sonoran desert region.

"The interior repatriation program is voluntary," Hutchinson told reporters. "Eligible migrants who are apprehended entering the U.S. illegally will be offered the opportunity to return to their home via air or bus transportation."

The first flight was expected to be on July 12, after the United States finalizes contracts for air transport. The Mexicans who participate will be flown to either Mexico City or Guadalajara then sent by bus to their hometowns.

The controversial program to ship illegal Mexicans to their hometowns rather than simply dropping them off on the Mexican side of the border was a touchy issue for Mexicans sensitive to U.S. interference in their internal affairs.

But Mexican and U.S. officials agree on the need to boost security on the 2,000-mile border to reduce the number of the hundreds of Mexicans who die every year making the dangerous illegal crossing in search of a higher standard of living in the United State.

Hutchinson said the repatriation is only a pilot program set to run until Sept. 30. It is part of a broader plan that aims to cut illegal immigration in the Arizona region area -- one of the most popular and most deadly crossing points.

"This interior repatriation initiative does support the Arizona Border Control Initiative, but it also supports our goal of saving lives and reducing the power of smuggling organizations," Hutchinson said.

Temperatures in the Sonoran desert soar to above 104 Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) for most of the summer. Border officials have said at least 61 people have died since October in the Tucson sector of the border, 17 of them because of heat.

Last week the United States assigned two aerial drones to Arizona border patrol as part of the drive to secure the 350-mile stretch of the border.

The repatriation program will cost about $13 million, and Hutchinson said the United States hopes to ship about 300 Mexicans home every day. The program will be reevaluated after the pilot phase ends on Sept. 30.