The Houston Chronicle is reporting that one fourth of non-Mexicans apprehended at the nations southern border are set free rather than deported to their home countries. The Border Patrol routinely deports Mexicans because the cost of returning a Mexican right across the border is much less than sending a non-Mexican back. And Mexicans often do not even need to be detained because they can be transported across a border crossing point quickly.

INS detention facilities have been suffering from serious overcrowding and are unable to keep families together. Many of the non-Mexicans traveling with family members are freed and given a summons to appear at a deportation proceeding. Often, a mother has small children and the INS is not able to handle caring for the minors. Others frequently released are pregnant women or those with injuries or disabilities, especially people with relatives already in the US.

Last month, we reported on deplorable human rights conditions for immigrants being detained in jails because INS detention centers are full and the discretionary releases from detention are one way to address the problem.

To put the problem in perspective, however, Chief Joe Garza of the Border Patrol notes in the Houston Chronicle report that only 4% of the 246,000 undocumented immigrants caught each year are non-Mexican. Most of the non-Mexicans are from other Central American countries, though alien smuggling rings are more and more frequently bringing Asians through the southern border.