Pulled ringtone intended as satire, firm says

updated 9:17 p.m. ET May 11, 2006

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The company that developed the lyrics for a ringtone about deportation apologized Thursday after Cingular Wireless LLC pulled it for being offensive.

Barrio Mobile said the ringtone "La Migra" — a slang term for Border Patrol agent — was satire and shouldn't be taken seriously.

Mexican-American comic Paul Saucido wrote the ringtone that features a male voice, acting as a Border Patrol agent with a Southern drawl, saying, "I repeat-o, put the oranges down and step away from the telephone-o. I'm deporting you back home-o."

"His position is that people of Hispanic background need to maintain a sense of humor about the immigration situation," said Jonathan Dworkin, a vice president of Cellfish Media, which distributed the ringtone.

Cingular pulled the ringtone from its Web site Tuesday.

Barrio Mobile and Cellfish Media are part of Lagardere, a French media company.

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