China, US join to repatriate illegal immigrants   (Xinhua)  Updated: 2006-07-22 17:03  
Police from China and the United States joined hands for the first time to 
repatriate 119 illegal Chinese immigrants by a chartered flight recently, a 
source from the Ministry of Public Security said Saturday. 
 An official with the Ministry of Public Security said US officials submitted 
a 288-person list of illegal immigrants and asked Chinese police to confirm 
their IDs, prior to the visit of Michael Chertoff, the newly appointed US 
secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in early April. 
 During Michael Chertoff's visit in Beijing, China and the United States 
reached agreement on repatriation of illegal immigrants. 
 On June 26, a panel, consisting of a Chinese police liaison officer and 
diplomats from the Chinese Embassy and General Consulate in Houston, Texas 
reached El Paso, Texas to check preparation and safety measures for the 
repatriation. 
 On June 28, the chartered plane left the United States for Changle 
International Airport in east China's Fujian Province, marking the first success 
in Sino-U.S. cooperation in repatriating illegal immigrants via chartered 
flight, the officialsaid. 
 
   
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