THE Mexican Government is distributing more than one million comic books containing advice and safety tips to immigrants who hope to slip across the United States border illegally.

The 32-page Guide for the Mexican Migrant has angered anti-immigrant groups in the US, who claim that it is little more than a DIY manual on how to sneak into America.

The Mexican Government says that the guide, which advises migrants to carry enough water, to follow railway lines and to avoid wearing heavy clothing when crossing rivers, is to stop them from dying. In recent years, the number of Mexicans who die trying to cross the border — often from thirst in the desert, from drowning, or by suffocation in the back of lorries — has been increasing. About 400 immigrants died along the border in 2003, a 10 per cent increase on the figure for 2002.

Both the US and Mexican governments admit that the death toll must be reduced. Last month President Bush repeated his pledge to reform the immigration system, calling the death toll along the Mexican border unacceptable.

“The idea is to reduce the number of people who die in the attempt,” Alfonso Nieto said on behalf of the Mexican Embassy in Washington. “The objective of the guide is to inform Mexicans (of) the appropriate way to do it, and the risks of doing otherwise.”

Rick Oltman, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told the Los Angeles Times: “It . . . will lead to more illegal aliens coming (and) more tragic deaths as people risk their lives in swollen rivers and burning deserts.”

The US Border Patrol also issues guidance, but emphasises dangers rather than how to overcome them. Andy Adame, of the Arizona Border Patrol, said: “We tell them that they are going to walk five days in 110- degree heat. That’s the reality, and we don’t sugarcoat it”.

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