NATION : INS Charters Flight for Aliens
A chartered flight has returned 120 illegal aliens to their native countries as part of what federal authorities say is one of the largest mass deportations in recent U.S. history.
The aliens had been detained in the Rio Grande Valley after being rejected for political asylum. They were flown Thursday to San Salvador in an aircraft chartered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for $32,000.
The new charter program is designed to reduce costs associated with sending the Central Americans home, said INS District Director Jerry Sewell.
The INS previously transported aliens in buses to Houston, then placed them on commercial flights at a cost of more than $300 each. Before the chartered flights were initiated, about 30 aliens were deported each week.
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