International negotiations lead to local agreements on repatriating undocumented immigrants

The U.S. and Mexico are looking locally to find the best fit for how to repatriate Mexicans in the country illegally. As a result of local repatriation agreements in nine geographic sectors along the border, local officials will decide how to best remove undocumented immigrants and return them to Mexico.

“It’s not as if we’re starting today,” said Sarah Saldaa, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We’ve been doing this for some time. We’re just updating and formalizing, and increasing – number one, the locations and also some of the conditions. And it’s the result of a lot of work.”

The agreement for the El Paso-Juarez sector of the border was signed Tuesday at the Border Patrol station in northeast El Paso. It’s one of nine being signed across the U.S.-Mexico border involving local officials, and those involved said that leads to better coordination.

“The benefits are several,” said Carlos Perez-Verdia, the Under Secretary for North America in the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. “One of them of course is the main one, which is the treatment of the migrant. We are much closer to his or her needs, to what their preferences are. Our times are shorter, and much more humane. It’s also a good point for the relationship, the political relationship between our two countries. It means that we’re sitting down at a table and talk to fix and arrange anything that can be improved in the repatriation process.”

That working group is called R.E.S.P.E.C.T. or the “Repatriation Strategy and Policy Executive Coordination Team.” It meets about once a year and is expected to continue developing solutions to issues on our shared border.

Officials at the signing ceremony say that in the El Paso-Juarez region changes from the agreement will focus on handling unaccompanied minors and immigrants with medical conditions.