Illegal Immigrants Offered ‘Luxury’ Deportation Service
By micro99 at 17 October, 2008, 11:21 am
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has implemented a designated carrier to transport illegal immigrants from the United States back to Latin America and their other countries of origin.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the airline, known as Repatriate, is a response to an increase in deportations after a crackdown on illegal aliens coming into the country.
It offers all deportees a comfortable journey, along with free food, according to Michael Pitts, chief of flight operations for deportations and removals at ICE.
Each flight costs an average of $620 per person, which is paid for by the U.S. government.
One passenger, identified only as Ms. Garcia, said she was arrested near San Antonio and was disappointed to have been caught, having paid $5,000 to be smuggled from Guatemala.
Pew Hispanic Center has estimated that 57 percent of illegal immigrants come from Mexico, 24 percent come from the rest of Latin America and 19 percent come from elsewhere.
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