Human Smuggling a Profitable Business at Immigrants' Cost
2021-05-12
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1Ronald Garcia is a 39-year-old Guatemalan man who recently entered the United States illegally.
2He is currently at Casa Alitas, a shelter for immigrants in Tucson, Arizona.
3While there, he told about his border crossing.
4Garcia said he paid smugglers $20,000 to get him across the border.
5He said he had to sell all he owned to come to the U.S.
6Crossing into the United States illegally is a big business in Central and South America.
7Many people leave their countries due to the violence and poverty.
8They pay huge amounts of money and risk their lives to leave.
9Garcia said of his experience, "They put me in a trunk where you couldn't breathe, and well, thank God (I survived), because they say that all those who are put there, they die."
10The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) says illegal smuggling operations are big business.
11A RAND Corporation study estimated smugglers made between $200 million and $2.3 billion in 2017 transporting people into the U.S., mostly from Central America.
12USPB spokesman Mario Escalante said it is a dangerous business as well.
13He said smugglers sometimes abandon the migrants, steal from them, rape them and worse.
14Garcia agrees.
15"They ask for a quantity of money, and if they don't get it by the time and date they say, they'll kill you," he said.
16Henry Cuellar is a U.S. lawmaker from Texas.
17The congressional area he represents stretches from San Antonio to the border town of McAllen in southern Texas.
18Cuellar told VOA that smugglers also provide transport for illegal drug traffickers.
19But it is not just criminal organizations making money from immigrants.
20Private research business Dynamic Securities Analytics reports that the American financial industry also profits from the illegal business.
21They profit from fees connected to electronic payments made by undocumented immigrants.
22President Joe Biden supports extensive immigration reform.
23Biden has also warned migrants against making illegal border crossings.
24Former ambassador Roberta Jacobson is Biden's adviser on southern border issues.
25She told VOA that the administration is working with foreign intelligence sources to fight human smuggling operations.
26I'm John Russell.
1Ronald Garcia is a 39-year-old Guatemalan man who recently entered the United States illegally. He is currently at Casa Alitas, a shelter for immigrants in Tucson, Arizona. While there, he told about his border crossing. 2Garcia said he paid smugglers $20,000 to get him across the border. He said he had to sell all he owned to come to the U.S. 3Crossing into the United States illegally is a big business in Central and South America. Many people leave their countries due to the violence and poverty. They pay huge amounts of money and risk their lives to leave. 4Garcia said of his experience, "They put me in a trunk where you couldn't breathe, and well, thank God (I survived), because they say that all those who are put there, they die." 5The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) says illegal smuggling operations are big business. 6A RAND Corporation study estimated smugglers made between $200 million and $2.3 billion in 2017 transporting people into the U.S., mostly from Central America. 7USPB spokesman Mario Escalante said it is a dangerous business as well. He said smugglers sometimes abandon the migrants, steal from them, rape them and worse. 8Garcia agrees. 9"They ask for a quantity of money, and if they don't get it by the time and date they say, they'll kill you," he said. 10Henry Cuellar is a U.S. lawmaker from Texas. The congressional area he represents stretches from San Antonio to the border town of McAllen in southern Texas. 11Cuellar told VOA that smugglers also provide transport for illegal drug traffickers. 12But it is not just criminal organizations making money from immigrants. 13Private research business Dynamic Securities Analytics reports that the American financial industry also profits from the illegal business. They profit from fees connected to electronic payments made by undocumented immigrants. 14President Joe Biden supports extensive immigration reform. Biden has also warned migrants against making illegal border crossings. 15Former ambassador Roberta Jacobson is Biden's adviser on southern border issues. She told VOA that the administration is working with foreign intelligence sources to fight human smuggling operations. 16I'm John Russell. 17Aline Barros and Celia Mendoza reported this story for Voice of America. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 18__________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20smuggler - a person who transports (someone or something) from one country into another illegally and secretly 21trunk - n. the enclosed space in the back of a car for carrying things 22quantity - n. a large amount or number of something