A growing protest over a voluntary repatriation program for Mexicans has spurred immigrant rights groups in Southern California to launch a campaign aimed at thwarting the initiative. The $12-million program, which started in July and is a collaboration between the United States and Mexico, targets Mexicans caught illegally crossing America's southwestern border, many of whom trek across the Sonoran Desert. The migrants are picked up and subsequently offered a free flight from Tucson to Guadalajara or Mexico City, where they are given vouchers for bus rides home. Pro-immigration activists argue that the initiative violates immigrants' right to a fair hearing before being deported, separates families and fails to address why so many Mexicans are willing to risk crossing illegally into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said there were no plans to expand the repatriation program outside the Tucson area. But activists fear that may change. [more
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