Crossing the Border Illegally

Although, I live in Marin County, one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the US, there are many illegal immigrants from Central America who live in the Canal district of San Rafael; many are from Guatemala. I´m not sure how they can afford to live there. Since I´m not running for office, I can admit that I often hire day laborers and will pay them anywhere from $13 to $20/hour depending on the work to work around the house. I usually drive by under the 101/580 highways and pick out the older men who most likely have families that they are supporting back home. I know I can trust them because of the sacrifices they have made to come to the US and they always work tremendously hard. I believe in giving people a chance to live the American Dream as my family did when they immigrated here. Last night, I learned of how one man crossed the border illegally.

I attended a discussion on crossing the US/Mexico border and listened to a man tell his story of how he crossed the border in 1987. He went from Xela, Guatemala to LA in a very dangerous manner. His group started with 9 and joined 5000 others at the US/Mexico border, but only 3 of his original 9 made it over. He recounted how he went without food for a couple days and had to walk 6 hours through the mountains at night. Overall, he spent 18 days making the tortuous journey almost falling off the top of the "train of death" at times. Back then, the coyotes, the immigrant smugglers, would garner $1000 per person for the journey, but today, they charge $7000. Considering that most Guatemalans only make about $1000 a year, this is quite a hefty price. The coyotes all work together and trade their passengers when they come to certain points in the trip or at border crossings. Most coyotes will ask for half of the money up front and the rest when they reach the US or for more money as they reach certain milestones. However, if the passengers don´t make it to the US, they will not receive a refund. This man wants to create an NGO to educate Guatemalans about the difficulty in crossing the border and warn them of the dangers. He would not recommend just anyone to take on this journey. About 200 Guatemalans travel everyday to the Southern States of Mexico and only 17 make it to the U.S. Last year, the US deported 23,000 Guatemalans back to their country. Additionally, many are taken advantage of during the trip and in key towns such as Tapachula where they connect trains. The birth lottery definitely has its advantages and disadvantages.