DRUG WAR: LASER, INVESTORS' VISAS ALLOW MANY TO LIVE, WORK IN EL
PASO

EL PASO -- They are not your typical undocumented immigrants.

Thousands of middle-class Mexican citizens, under the guise of being
commuters or visitors, may be manipulating the U.S. immigration system
to escape the violence of Juarez.

More than 4,600 murders occurred in Juarez in 2008 and 2009, and the
fallout is apparent in the city's decay. More than 110,000 houses have
been abandoned, 75,000 people have lost their jobs and more than
10,000 businesses have closed.

Now a white-collar segment of Juarez's population may be streaming to
El Paso by misusing tourist visas, then renting houses or apartments
or even opening businesses.

Living in the United States may be illegal for these immigrants who
flee the epicenter of Mexico's drug war by moving right across the
border to one of the safest cities in the country.

El Paso had 12 murders last year compared to 2,643 in Juarez. New York
City, with eight times the population of Juarez, had 466 homicides in
2009.

Most people who cross international bridges from Mexico into El Paso
hold tourist or "laser" visas. This visa entitles Mexicans to visit
the United States, but they cannot work legally in the country.

The U.S. government issued almost 1.5 million visas from 2000 to 2009
at the Consulate of Juarez. Some were for students and temporary
workers, but most were laser visas, which expire after 10 years and
cannot be used for visits longer than six months.

Not just any Mexican citizen can get a tourist visa to enter the
United States. To qualify, one must prove he or she has a steady
income, a residence in Mexico and bank and utility statements to help
demonstrate that he or she is not intent on working in the United States.

Obtaining a tourist visa also is contingent on the applicant's
background, such as whether he or she has an immigration violation or
criminal history in the U.S., said Lisa Rios, an immigration lawyer in
El Paso.

Mexican nationals apply for the visa at one of the 12 U.S. consulates
in their country. The cost is $130, plus the cost of the Mexican
passport. The screening process usually takes weeks.

Customs inspectors at bridges verify the authenticity of the document
and ask more questions about the purpose of the travel in the United
States. But once foreigners are in the United States, it is difficult
if not impossible to keep track of them.

Customs and Border Protection has a system to record people
overstaying their visas, but it is not as sophisticated as it is in
airports.

Mexicans entering with a laser visa who stay less than 30 days and
near the border do not need a form that allows CBP to maintain a log
of arrivals and departures.

The form is not collected at international bridges in El Paso when
Mexicans are traveling back to Juarez. That leaves CBP without an
accurate record of who is violating the terms of the visa.

So staying in El Paso may provide a way for Mexican nationals to slip
under the immigration radar and justify their presence in the country
as commuters.

Grace Gomez, a Customs and Border Protection supervisor in El Paso,
said the agency documents cases in which people overstay their visit
and notifies Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A sweep last week by ICE agents in El Paso County led to 33 arrests of
people who were living in the United States illegally. But all of
those people had criminal convictions in the United States, making
them targets of law officers.

Sergio Ramirez, a real estate agent, said most Juarez residents moving
to the United States do not run the risk of being deported because
they have no criminal record.

"If they were criminals, it would be foolish for them to come here,"
Ramirez said. "Here, they get caught."

Another way Juarez residents are moving to El Paso is through
investors' visas.

To get the document, an applicant must show that he or she will invest
at least $500,000 opening a business and hiring at least 10 full-time
employees.

Ana Gonzalez of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said the
agency last year counseled more than 200 business people from Mexico
looking to start operations in El Paso. When the business owners were
not permanent residents or U.S. citizens, an investor's visa was a
possible avenue.

New businesses rooted in Mexico were not necessarily opening in El
Paso be cause its owners were trying to leave Juarez, Gonzalez said.
Some were looking to expand.

Attorney Rios said she had seen an increase in people from Juarez
looking to apply for the investor's visa in the past two years.

The number of these visas granted to foreign nationals went from about
800 in 2007 to nearly 1,400 in 2008, the last year documented by the
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Rios said the number, not broken down by country, indicates more
businesses are moving to El Paso because their owners faced threats of
kidnapping and extortion.

Gomez of Customs and Border Protection said anecdotal evidence shows
that fewer people are crossing into El Paso. An annual immigration
report is still months away.

Nonetheless, more people detect a greater presence of Mexicans in El
Paso.

"If you go to restaurants or malls, you see license plates from
Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua," Ramirez said.