El Paso, Texas has returned as the hottest spot for illegal crossings of the U.S.-Mexico border, even though the overall number of crossings has dropped significantly. According to March data from the Border Patrol, about 264 people cross illegally each day across the entire border, and 52 of them in the El Paso sector.
Since Trump took office, entering the US has become more difficult than ever, forcing immigrants to rely on cartel smugglers to get in, writes A2 CNN. The cost of a "VIP package" to enter through secret tunnels has reached up to $40,000 per person - three times what was required during the Biden administration.
Three cartels - La Linea, La Impresa and the Sinaloa cartel - control illegal entry into this part of the border. Smugglers use sophisticated methods, such as invisible cuts in the border wall, lighted and ventilated tunnels, or infiltrations into crowds of American workers.
Augustin, an 18-year-old from Ciudad Juárez, told DailyMail.com that he used to earn between $300 and $700 per person he passed through, but now the amounts have doubled or tripled. He said migrants often end up in sewage canals, risking drowning.
Despite the crackdown, human trafficking remains a $13 billion-a-year industry. Border Patrol agent Carlos David Antúnez says the new measures have made it much harder to cross, but smugglers are always finding new ways to make money. “No president is going to stop smuggling,” Augustine said. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
