Mexico says it won't stop illegal immigration to the U.S.

CNN August 17, 1998

Mexico says it won't stop illegal immigration to the U.S.

                  MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico won't try to stop its citizens from crossing
                  illegally into the United States because they have a right to try to better their
                  lives, the top official of Mexico's migration agency said.

                  "We will do nothing that limits or discourages migration to the United States
                  by people who leave their families and their hometowns to better their living
                  conditions," Fernando Solis Camara said in comments quoted Sunday by
                  local newspapers.

                  Solis Camara, the top official at Mexico's Subsecretariat of Population and
                  Migration Services, said he was worried about an increase in deaths and
                  injuries to emigrants.

                  Signs now warn people about hazards. Rescue teams patrol the area to help
                  emigrants in need. The teams never try to persuade people not to make the
                  trip, he said.

                  On Thursday, seven bodies were found near El Centro, Calif., bringing the
                  number of heat-related deaths among would-be illegal immigrants this year
                  to 81.