More Central Americans Apprehended in Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico (EFE) – Thenumber of Central Americans capturedwhile trying to cross the border fromMexico into the United States hasincreased 50% this year compared to thesame period in 2003, according toMexican immigration authorities.The average number of arrests eachmonth has jumped from 400 in 2003 to600 this year in the Mexican states ofTamaulipas, Nuevo León and Coahuila,which account for 900 kilometers (560miles) of the 3,100 kilometers (1,930miles) of Mexico-U.S. border, saidFernando Montes, regional delegate of theNational Immigration Institute inTamaulipas.“Immigration is an age-old phenomena,and year after year, the flow of immigrantswho enter Mexico illegally to getto the United States increases,” Montessaid. “Some Central American countriesare not in a position to offer their populationsufficient work, so people seekother ways of solving their economicproblems.”The immigration officer said most ofthe undocumented Central Americans areGuatemalans, Salvadorans andHondurans, who are detained while tryingto sneak across the northeastern borderinto Texas.