Locals transporting migrants from border wall to stash houses for $100
Immigration
Smugglers flaunt quick cash to entice U.S. citizens, legal residents to fill voids in their networks
by: Julian Resendiz
Posted: Jun 14, 2021 / 06:11 PM CDT / Updated: Jun 14, 2021 / 06:11 PM CDT
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Mexican drug cartels are often blamed for funneling migrants to the U.S. border. But once those foreigners looking for a better life make it over the border fence or across the burning desert, it is up to a small army of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to make sure they get to their destination.
These individuals – truck drivers, the unemployed and even high school students – get paid as little at $100 to drive migrants to local hotels and stash houses and thousands of dollars to deliver them to their final destination, interviews with experts and a review of pending cases in El Paso federal court show.
“It is usually the idea of fast money that draws people in. One-hundred dollars doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you’re able to make five, six quick trips a day, that’s not too bad,” said Victor M. Manjarrez Jr., associate director for the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas at El Paso. “Pay hinges on distance and risk. You’re not going to make $100 driving someone to Dallas or Houston, you’re going to make a lot more than that.”
https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/immigration/locals-transporting-migrants-from-border-wall-to-stash-houses-for-100/
