Fewer Returnees from the US Expected This Year

(Acapulco, NA 28 October) The head of the Acapulco office of the National Migration Institute (INM), Gloria Ocampo Aranda, announced that fewer Guerrero residents who work in the United States will come home this Christmas as compared with years past. She said the recent increase in violence in Mexico is not the reason; rather, the economic situation in the United States simply does not permit Mexican workers in the US to travel. She added that tighter border security may discourage those without documents to risk an unnecessary border crossing. The occasion of her remarks was the beginning of the program, “Paisano Invierno 2010,” which took place at the Grand Hotel in Icacos with several state and federal authorities in attendance. The program involves the installation of 27 temporary service centers in Acapulco and smaller towns throughout Guerrero, which will operate to assist migrants from November 1 to January 9, 2011. A third of the staff comes from the Immigration authorities, a third from the city governments and a third from the state Department of Social Development. The various police and highway departments at the state and federal levels will also participate to assist the travelers. Ten thousand copies of a pamphlet called Guía Paisano (“Guide for Countrymen”) will be distributed, providing tips and information to migrants in their treks homeward. In 2009 this program assisted several thousand migrants. In just the Airports of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo nearly 1,600 arrived during the period of the program.