811.504 Mexico/12–744
The Secretary of State to the Mexican Chargé (Colina)
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Mexico and refers to his note no. 22449 of December 7, 1944,39 in which, under instructions from his Government, he requested that the proper authorities of the United States be asked to return Mexican illegal entrants apprehended along the western part of the border through El Paso and Laredo, Texas. It was stated in the note that the majority of the workers being returned to Mexico through Mexicali and Tijuana, Lower California, the nearest Mexican ports of entry to the place of apprehension, were from other parts of Mexico and were upsetting the economy of Lower California.
The Secretary of State informs the Chargé d’Affaires that this request has been discussed with the interested agencies of this Government, who point out that the activities of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of this Government in returning illegal entrants, especially agricultural workers, were increased in conformance with paragraph 5 of the memorandum of discussions held in Mexico City from May 29 to June 2, 1944 between representatives of the two Governments, and that the paragraph in question was included in the [Page 1332] memorandum at the request of the Mexican representatives. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has informed the Department that reports from its field offices in California indicate that the Mexican migration officials at Mexicali and Tijuana, apparently under instructions from their Government, have been refusing to receive illegal entrants returned by the Immigration Service since December 6. It is considered that such measures or any modification of the arrangement referred to above should be preceded by a supplementary understanding between the two Governments, and until such an understanding is reached it is considered highly desirable that the status quo be maintained in regard to the return of illegal entrants through the nearest Mexican port of entry so that there may be no interruption in mutual measures of border control.
The Secretary of State, in regard to the request that these illegal entrants be returned through El Paso or Laredo, Texas, refers to a statement which the Ambassador of the United States of America in Mexico was requested to make to the Mexican Government several months ago. The Ambassador was authorized to point out that if Mexicali and Tijuana were to be excluded in favor of the ports of El Paso and Laredo, Texas, such a practice would not only operate to increase the period of detention of the aliens involved, but would also greatly overtax detention facilities in the Los Angeles District. A further complication of first importance would be the question of transportation because all available railroad facilities are already greatly overtaxed by traffic of direct importance to the war effort.
The appropriate agencies of this Government, in considering the Chargé’s note under reference, have recognized to the fullest extent the problem which confronts the Mexican Government in regard to these workers and have agreed that an emergency and temporary solution of the problem might be the recruiting of these workers under the agreement of April 26, 1943 for the temporary migration of Mexican agricultural workers to the United States, for periods of time acceptable to both Governments. If this suggestion meets with the approval of the Mexican Government, the War Food Administration is prepared to extend individual work contracts under the agreement to workers meeting the standards of the program at a mutually acceptable center in Lower California. Furthermore, at the request of the Mexican Government arrangements could be made so that workers so contracted, whose homes are elsewhere in Mexico, could be delivered to Mexico through the port of El Paso, Texas, or other port in use for the repatriation of agricultural workers, upon expiration of their contracts. It should be understood, however, that this arrangement is considered a temporary expedient and is contingent upon the uninterrupted receipt by Mexico of returned illegal entrants [Page 1333] through the nearest port of entry unless other mutually satisfactory arrangements are agreed upon through further consideration of the question.
- Not printed.↩