Brazilian illegals crossing border to escape imploding economy

The economy in Brazil is dreadful. There are more than 13 million unemployed people in the country. 

I think the major responsible for the declined situation in Brazil is the past President Lula da Silva, the man Barack Obama once considered to be so great that he wanted him to be “President of the World Bank.”  He is now in jail for corruption, money laundering, and facing more charges. – NotWhatIUsedToB

Trump and fee of $20K do not slowdown Brazilian migrants

Folha

A coyote describes how he traffics people and says that business is strong.

Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy, which was in place May and June and separated children from their parents, did not inhibit Brazilians from illegally crossing the US border.

Many families with small children are still looking into taking the trip, says a coyote that for more than 20 years took immigrants from the region of Governador Valadares (State of Minas Gerais) to the United States.

Marcelo (fictitious name), 50 years old, agreed to recount details of the scheme to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, with the condition that his identity not being revealed. He sent audio recordings and videos that he says are from people who managed to get into the US after hiring his services.

—Marcelo says he charges US $ 20,000, [as of today the minimum wage in Brazil is about US$ 250.00 MONTHLY] .

“If the person is slower, if the person has difficulty understanding the guidelines, I know he’s going to give me a headache, so I’ll charge him US$ 22,000.”

According to him, the money is kept with some family members in Brazil and is only paid to him after the person crosses the border.

The crossing – which can be done by river, forest, tunnel or even by climbing the wall (the one Donald Trump wants to expand) at the border between Mexico and the United States, – involves paying bribes to agents at various points, Marcelo says.

On average, the coyote says he takes 20 people a month, but he estimates there are about 80 other Brazilians doing the same thing, many sending up to 50 migrants monthly each.

“I’m a small fish in the middle of sharks. I don’t work too much because my family doesn’t like what I do. I hide it more from my family than from the authorities.”

Marcelo says that, so far, he has been arrested three times in Brazil and deported eight times from the United States for doing what he does.

Marcelo says that with the end of “zero tolerance policy”, the families with children he sends to the US take advantage of a known method: they surrender to the border patrol and ask for asylum. In this case, the amount paid to the coyote is cut by half. “Parents with children are more likely to enter. It’s an easier trip.” he says.

He admits that there are cases of unaccompanied children passing off as children of another adult. “If I have an unaccompanied minor and my colleague [another coyote] has an adult without children, he pays US$ 2,000 for the minor to go as his kid.”

According to Marcelo, the first step is to fly to Mexico City. There, immigration agents charge US$1,000 per passenger to allow entry.

“We have a contact at the airport every shift. We send photos of each passenger of ours, describing how they are dressed. If we do not do that, they come back.” he says.

From there, they go to a Mexican city on the border, by bus or domestic flights. In the latter case, a police officer must be paid at the airport – US$ 100 per person.

How the crossing is done depends on “the physical condition of the passenger”:

—The most fit pay US$ 5,000 to walk 10 km through the woods. For the same value they can opt to travel in buoys, crossing the river that leads to the USA.

There is also the option of jumping the wall on the border itself. “We have a person who tells us when it is the guards’ shift change.”

Then they use a rope ladder, which runs from side to side, crosses and away they go. It has to be fast, so it has to be a person who can run.

—Obese, disabled, pregnant and elderly have the “superlux”alternative, as ‘Marcelo’ ranks: a ten minute walk into a tunnel that ends at a farm in the USA. The price charged by Mexicans for this route is doubled, US$ 10,000.

Once in the US you have to pass through an immigration check point on the road. Marcelo says that the immigrants are placed in cars or trucks with false bottoms or secret compartments, although many are discovered, as shown by photos frequently released by immigration police. Even a post office vehicle is used: “One goes under the bags, quietly. You crossed the check point, you’re free.”

According to him, about 10% of Brazilians who hire him are caught by the police. In that case, he says he has a network of lawyers to try to release the person on bail. “It takes years until the trial is over. Until then, even if the person is deported, he or she has already made enough money.”

Marcelo says that he has gone 35 times in the United States without being caught and lived there for 12 years. At the times when he was arrested, he thought about giving up being a coyote, but ended up returning to the illegal activity. “With the dollar reaching R$ 4, the temptation is big. I used to work hard as a contractor, earning a minimum wage. I couldn’t do it for more than four months.”

The money he makes as coyote, he invests in real estate. “I do not like to show off. I have my farm, my little house, my little pool, but I do not have a flashy car.” he says.

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