Mexicans are paying human smugglers an average of $6,937 to be brought across the southern border into the United States, according to a recent report from EMIF Norte — a joint initiative of the Mexican government, the College of the Northern Border, and the International Organization for Migration.
The average price paid by Mexican women ($7,839) is 19 percent higher than the $6,565 average price paid by men, the report states.
Information previously released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows that smugglers, often referred to as coyotes, are raking in as much as $6 billion per year by illegally transporting people across the southern border.
According to the report from EMIF More, 45 percent of Mexican migrants used a coyote to cross the border. More than half (53.1 percent) say they do not have documents required to enter or work in the U.S. legally.
Over 55 percent of migrants surveyed say they endured extremely hot or extremely cold conditions traveling to the U.S., while nearly a quarter (24.8 percent) said they lacked food or water. Eighty-six percent say they traveled alone through Mexico.
“The increasing use of smugglers over the past two years has only fueled the growing strength of the drug cartels and the humanitarian crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border,” the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) said in a statement. “This latest report provides more evidence that the open-borders policies of the Biden Administration are hurting America and migrants arriving here—not helping them.”
Last year was the deadliest year on record for migrants, with at least 853 who died attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully. That figure is likely underreported, as federal officials determined that the Border Patrol is not collecting or reporting complete data on migrant deaths.
Also during 2022, in Cochise County, Arizona, an estimated 1,000 vehicles per month are coming into the county to engage in drug or human smuggling, the Arizona Daily Independent reported.
Though state courts are unable to prosecute for human smuggling, Cochise County Attorney Bryan McIntyre began charging individuals with other related offenses, such as “felony endangerment for putting passengers at risk when a driver fails to yield during a traffic stop,” according to the Independent.
