Avoiding Juarez is a good decision

People who have enjoyed the hospitality in Juarez, El Paso’s sister city, through the years have trouble accepting the dangers that lurk there in today’s violence-wracked atmosphere.

The latest atrocity — a U.S. Consulate employee and her husband killed in a hail of bullets as they drove away from a child’s birthday party in the Mexican city — points up how the most innocent of ventures can prove tragic.
In that vein, we can’t take issue with the U.S. Border Patrol’s recent decision to avoid Juarez when sending illegal Mexican immigrants back to their homeland.

Yes, it does involve extra time and money because the Border Patrol is now sending a bus daily from El Paso to Presidio so the deportees can cross into Ojinaga instead of Juarez.

 It also should be noted that these deportees are illegal immigrants who requested a voluntary return to Mexico.
This generally means they are not hardened criminals, but simply people who came across in search of a better life and got caught. It probably includes vulnerable young women who sought work as domestic help and others who have little or no financial means.

Sure, they are here in the United States illegally. But dropping them back into the jungle that Juarez has become could be a form of capital punishment. Plus, it could turn into an international incident if one or more new deportees met with immediate violence.

So the safest route, for all concerned, is to go to the extra trouble to make the daily trip to Presidio.

Once in Presidio, the bus will unload at the international bridge leading to Ojinaga where the occupants will meet with Mexican immigration officials.

It is a sad commentary that such measures are necessary, but border violence is a reality and a concern for residents who live in both countries. It’s nice to see one of our federal agencies using a little common sense and caution.