…who needs enemies? Mexico is now providing satellite navigation systems so that illegal immigrants from Mexico can safely find their way across the U.S. border.
Would-be illegal immigrants planning to cross the desert and enter the United States on foot are to be given hand-held satellite devices by the Mexican authorities to ensure they arrive safely. Those who get lost or fall sick during the dangerous four-day crossing will be able to activate the device, to alert frontier police on both sides of the border.
The satellite tracking service will require would-be illegals to register their intentions before setting off – a paradoxical move, given that secrecy is necessary for success – but Mexican authorities are predicting that about 200,000 devices will be handed out when the project is launched formally in the coming year.
“Our intention is to save lives,” said Jaime Obregon, the coordinator for the state commission for migrants in Puebla, the Mexican state which is behind the project. “There are lots of people looking to cross and we are working with the US authorities to make sure they do not die on the way.”
Between 20 and 30 migrants succumb to hellish temperatures and insect bites while trying to cross into Arizona every year. Heat exhaustion sometimes causes short-term memory loss, with trekkers wandering into the desert.
Hey look, I don’t want these people to die. And, I certainly understand why they’re trying to come here. But, for the Mexican government to be abetting this illegal behavior stinks to high heaven.
