Guadalajara, Mexico, June 25, 2020 – Repatriations or deportations by air to the interior of Mexico began in 2012 as a pilot program operated jointly between the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) and the National Institute of Migration (INM). The program intended to prevent deported migrants from attempting to re-cross into the United States and to facilitate their return to their communities of origin in Mexico. In 2013, the program became permanent,