TomG
Jan 26, 2004, 6:06 PM
Post #2 of 6
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Re: [dbrown] Illegal returning to Mexioc
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First of all don't be in a hurry, he has been in the US that long and a few months will not make any really big difference. Emotions begin to enter before going home and bad or costly decisions break out.
Hang tight and start an orderly process of information gathering. He needs a "matricula" card from his nearest Mexican consulate in the USA to prove he is a Mexican. They do this every day.
He could also call and ask at one of the larger Mexican Consulates where to call and get info on "nationalizing a pickup". I think an Explorer counts as a pickup (or has in the past in some cases). I know of people who have crossed with this class of vehicle. There are special "abogados" at the border crossing who specialize in nationalizing vehicles for Mexicans. There is no way he can get around this I could detect, because he cannot cross over to Mexico on a scouting trip and see whether he could get the nationalizing papers and process them himself. He can prearrange with an "abogado" by giving his vehicle data by phone and then arrive two weeks later when it is mostly processed and his Mexican plates are present at the border from his home state in Mexico.
Two years ago a pickup had to be over 10 years to the month old to qualify. Cars didn't qualify. Things are changing rapidly at this time and in the near future - so I hear locally. The fee at that time for a 12 year old pickup was 3000 pesos. Older ones costs less than new ones - the price is scaled by year. Once he eases it out on the bridge he is committed, no turning around for more homework or arrangements. It stays on the bridge, it can't go back due to his legal status, and it can't go forward to the other end without all forms in order. It also must arrive at the other end of the bridge totally empty of things, like his clothes and personal belongings - as empty as when he bought it on a car lot or from a dealer. This is very tricky. I saw people unloading full pickups and hand carrying all the treasures they brought back from the USA to the other side, where they would have to have a friend watch the pile while they went out on the bridge for more. You really need a third person to watch the pickup on the middle of the bridge. It would help greatly to have an American or a legal with him to drive the American vehicle over to the other side while he stays in the USA, unload the stuff at a safe place (motel or abogados office), deal with the abogado, then swing back over to the USA side, U-turn, pick him up, and out on to the bridge with the abogados papers and arrangements. Tricky.
He doesn't need a Mexican passport if he has a Mexican Matricular ID. But a Mexican passport would be a good ID document on the drive back. If he is in the Virginia area still, then he should be able to get very good info and ID from the Mexican Consulate in Washington, DC. With a Virginia drivers licenses and a Matricular ID he should be OK for the drive back, but a passport would be better in some of the screwier states.
He is likely to be safe from the INS on such a return trip because he is going back at his own expense, rather than theirs. But nothing is sure. He should drive safely and obey all the rules. The license should serve him well and keep him safe. He should be advised of his rights by someone like a Immigration Aid specialist (a free service) at a charitable organization that helps immigrants, so that if he is stopped on a minor traffic offense in a whacky place someone doesn't ask for his legal status proof beyond his license. With a valid license he should not have to prove more (unless the new Homeland Security stuff of the last few months has made it legal to pull people over and ask citizenship). When he is returning voluntarily at his expense the INS doesn't really want him, but if some small town cop insists, they would have to take him. If I were him I would stay on interstates driving across I-80 to I-35 and stay on I-35 to Laredo. If he wants a different entry point he could branch off in San Antonio.
Mexicans immigrants are often very bad at maps and fearful of long car journeys. Go over the map with him many times if this is the case, how to navigate splits and the like, and how to correct a missed exit error without getting too exposed.
If he hung on Bush might give him something to travel to Mexico and re-enter the USA with, as well as work more. What is going to happen will likely happen before the November elections - 10 months more, if he is a gambling man. By that time the Mexican vehicle nationalization situation might play out as well, and he could end out paying nothing, and being hassle free.
Some people re-enter Mexico as bigshots and fall flat on their tails in a very short time. Some ramrod a few years of northern wages into a better and secure life for them and their families for the whole generation and beyond. I think the pueblo people do better than the city people; the city people are so screwed down here. City relatives and aquaintance could probably pick a returning worker clean before he got reoriented, what with weddings, birthday parties, baptisms, being out of work right now, just needing a this and a that, and on to infinity. Folks will be awful glad to see him.
Also he should mind his business on the Mexican side of the border. There are people just looking for the returning worker with all his stuff and money. Being well set up so that he can move through without a hitch and keep on going into the interior will greatly increase his safety. There are some nasty people in various nasty businesses around the border. Being Mexican he probably would trust them less than I do. Good strategy is his best defense, a travel partner would help. He needs to know his costs for the trip and crossing (as set as possible) and carry maybe 50% more for contingency. As far as I'm concerned he could sleep in his vehicle on I-80 in Penn., most of Ohio, Iowa, the Kansas Turnpike, and a some places in Texas.
He must be a good person to have such a good friend. Good luck to the both of you.
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