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MESA - A surge in illegal immigrants has prompted federal officials to open a new facility in Mesa to handle deportations to Central America.

U.S. Immigration and Customs officials say the processing center at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport will serve as the final point where immigrants will be held in the U.S. before boarding a plane that takes them back home.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement expects to repatriate 22,000 immigrants this year. That's double the number from 2006.

ICE deputy assistant director Mark Lenox said the surge is the result of increased immigration enforcement that began about four years ago.