Mexico offers amnesty to their undocumented - including Americans
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, Mexico -- Mexico is offering undocumented foreigners including Americans amnesty if they come forward and apply for legal status.
"I have heard there are people here who don't have the proper documents. We have illegal aliens here also," said Arlene Van Note, a resident in San Miguel de Allende.
"I'm a permanente. I live here all the time," said Van Note who is retired.
She has her documents in order but other Americans do not.
They're not climbing over the walls either. They're driving in. They come in on trains and planes and buses.
Many enter on tourist visas and stay after the document expires.
The issue of undocumented Americans living in Mexico is an open secret in places like San Miguel de Allende, a colonial city that is popular with tourists.
"Yeah, there are some people that I believe are here that are probably undocumented and working," said Christine Johnson, a legal permanent resident in San Miguel de Allende.
Undocumented Mexicans caught crossing the border into the U.S. are "sent back quickly," said Francisco Sanchez, a San Miguel native who earns a living shining shoes in the town square.
Rather than face deportation Americans and other foreigners who don't have documents are getting a chance to legalize their status under a temporary program.
http://www.kvue.com/story/news/state/2015/02/04/mexican-government-offering-amnesty-to-american-immigrants/22907519/