Hiding in Plain Sight: The often unseen world of human smuggling

More than five million people legally cross into the United States from the San Luis Port of Entry every year. The number that’s not widely known though is how many cross without proper documentation or within the confines of a trunk .

News 11 had the opportunity to look further into the often unseen world of human smuggling.

The belief for many is that the streets are paved with gold, that the United States is the land of opportunity; so many go to great lengths – illegal, dangerous and unsafe lengths to achieve the American dream.

“The reason people want that American dream is because of the way society pictures it.” For years, as a young teenager, a man whose identity we’re going to protect, risked it all to earn money, but more importantly respect. He contributed for years to help people obtain the American dream. “I was trapped in a life of lies. I wanted to gain the upper hand in society, but in reality , people don’t see you with respect, they see you in fear.”

It started when he was as a young man at a club in Mexico, approached by strangers. “Let’s party, VIP – pushing you in, further and further before you even realize it.” He didn’t even know it but was being groomed to enter the human smuggling trade. “Gain your trust, then ask you a favor.” In his case, the undocumented immigrants had to fend for themselves and find a way If they did make it, he would be waiting and the clock would be ticking. Sometimes at a gas station, a street corner – 30 minutes maximum. He wouldn’t wait any longer for anyone.

“If you take into consideration, 30 minutes is nothing for the people who have the courage to jump over or try to escape if someone is chasing them, not enough time for them – and that’s why a lot of people get caught – they would be left on the street, wandering around trying to get a ride to the nearest big city, but yet – they already gave up so much money.”

The price tag is often close to five grand, with the driver on the U.S. side earning a thousand bucks a head. The first stop was always a new set of clothes. “Clothes were dirty, jeans were ripped, they weren’t smuggled in a trunk, they were running through the desert.” But even with the good money and respect earned, this driver who managed to get out of the business says don’t ever start. “Get out, don’t do it, not worth it.”

Even with one out of the game, it remains a lucrative business. “We’ve had an 85-year-old grandma smuggling, all the way to someone who’s 14-years-old,” Annica Zacarias said of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

So while many undocumented immigrants still risk hiding underneath floorboards and inside hot, hard to breathe in trunks, the more common approach these days is for an impostor to use a real – often times, stolen document. There were 553 cases in San Luis last year alone. “You’ll see people who will dye their hair, cut it – we had one person who glued their ears back, they’ll shave their eyebrows, we’ve had females use male documents,” Zacarias said.

Customs and Border Protection said the officers, infrastructure, cameras, x-ray machines and K-9 units are all force multipliers that help them carry out the mission of protecting our nation – but admittedly it’s impossible to catch everything. “The majority in San Luis are law abiding citizens. It’s legitimate trade and travel, so we’re looking for the needle in the haystack here. As much as every officer would like to look under every hood, open every trunk when it’s 120 degrees in the summer, time just doesn’t permit,” Zacarias said.

Among all the new technology, dogs still play a major role in the discovery of humans. Here’s the “Big Mac” analogy. “The canine doesn’t smell a cheeseburger, they’re going to smell the yeast in the bread, the seeds, the beef,” Zacarias said it’s the same with a canine searching a vehicle. They may only see one person, but they can smell three.

So while the smuggling trade has not changed significantly over the years, technology has, making it more difficult for those people, willing to risk it all for that better life, that American dream.

“It is rewarding that you’re keeping the nation safe, your neighbors safe and your family safe,” Zacarias added.