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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2005 
Smuggling Can Be Deadly, New Ads Warn Migrants
 Diane Lindquist - Union-Tribune
| | Investigators videotape the Houston-bound truck that transported dozens of immigrants to Victoria, 19 of whom died of heat exhaustion and suffocation on May 14. |
U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched a radio and television ad campaign yesterday to combat the smuggling of women and children across the border inside potentially deadly hidden compartments in vehicles.
U.S. border inspectors are apprehending an increasing number of undocumented minors, including infants and young children, at the ports of entry, said Adele Fasano, director of the U.S. Customs field office in San Diego. She made her comments yesterday at a news conference at the San Ysidro port of entry.
The number of apprehended minors climbed 17 percent last fiscal year, to almost 6,500. More than 4,200 minors have been caught trying to cross the border from Mexico so far this year, Fasano said.
They have been hidden in trunks, sewn into driver seats, bolted under engine compartments and sealed inside dashboards by migrant smugglers charging $2,000 to $3,000 per person, Fasano said.
"Fortunately, there have been no deaths, but I believe it's a matter of time before we agonize over the tragic loss of a small child," she said.
The ad campaign was initiated and produced in San Diego, with Univision Radio providing free technical assistance. It is one of several actions being taken in cooperation with Mexican officials to address smuggling and other criminal activity along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Wednesday, U.S. and Mexican officials revealed an effort to exchange information and evidence to assist both governments in prosecuting migrant smugglers.
The U.S. attorney in San Diego also is working with Justice Department officials to increase penalties for those caught smuggling people in dangerous hidden compartments, Fasano said.
With the help of the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, the public service messages in Spanish will be distributed to television and radio stations along the border and in the Mexican interior.
"We're here to save the lives of those most at risk," U.S. Consul General David Stewart said.
The ads urge Mexican families not to entrust their loved ones to migrant smugglers.
"These are very powerful messages that drive the point home," Fasano said.
One TV ad shows a smuggler reassuring a mother that her child will be safe locked in a trunk. "I'm a professional," he says. "He's in very good hands."
The next scene shows the trunk lid being closed. Then the image dissolves into that of a coffin lid being shut. |
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