“You think the gringos are going to block that border? They’re not going to block it, man.”
So says “Carlos,” a Honduran smuggler interviewed in the latest story from Radio Ambulante, the Spanish-language podcast created by novelist and journalist Daniel Alarcón. In the fascinating “El Coyote,” Carlos discusses his own past as an undocumented immigrant in the United States, his road into the smuggling business, and how much money people like him actually make. (As he puts it: “You only keep 25 percent. If you charge $7,000, you are only left with $1,800.”)
But what struck me about Carlos’ monologue was how he describes last year’s child migrant crisis, when nearly 70,000 kids—mostly from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—were apprehended at the US-Mexico border, many without even trying to evade Customs and Border Protection agents. His goal, he implies, was just to get kids across the border; parents wanted them to be caught by CBP because, as minors traveling without a guardian, they’d have a chance to apply for different forms of deportation relief and potentially stay in the United States for good.
Here’s what he had to say (emphasis mine):
What there was was an avalanche of young people, kids running away from our countries. We could tell you it was a wonderful time. You got the Central American kids, made them cross the Rio Bravo, and they were caught by Immigration…It’s less money but it’s safe money, because the parent wants you to hand the kid off to Immigration. So it’s a safe bet. Now, ask me, what do the governments in our countries do about that? Nothing.
Meanwhile, the number of unaccompanied child migrants caught at the border this year is down 48 percent compared to the same time last year, thanks in large part to Mexico’s new, US-influenced crackdown on Central American migrants.
Check out the entire “El Coyote” segment, updated Tuesday with English subtitles, above.