The business of smuggling people

 Some readers have asked about the tragedy: 53 people, migrants from Central America and Mexico, died in a truck that was abandoned in San Antonio. The truck was found about six miles from our house.

Elizabeth Trovall’s reporting for the Houston Chronicle has helped me understand the problem. The San Antonio Express-News, a sister paper, has carried some of her stories. Here's the gist of how the smuggling works:

• Routes: There are many. The two main two are:

—   The I-35 corridor, running from Nuevo Laredo to Laredo and on to San Antonio. It has sophisticated infrastructure, with 18-wheelers, including “clones,” rigs that are made to look like legitimate trucks, down to the paint jobs, company logos, forged license plates and registration numbers. There are also stash houses along the way, places where migrants can stay between rides. The route is busy with international trade. There are just too many trucks to check.

—   The Rio Grande, with crossings at Matamoros-Brownsville, Reynosa-McAllen and smaller cities. These routes tend to funnel into Falfurrias and then on to San Antonio and Houston, with stash houses along the way.

The days when immigrants crossed the river alone are mostly in the past.

• Costs: Migrants pay smugglers $4,000 to $20,000. Obviously, it’s an unregulated business, and the smugglers take whatever they can get. Some migrants are told that the trailers are air-conditioned, and the air-conditioning will be turned on right after the rigs get past the checkpoints.

• Where are the people coming from? The Northern Triangle of Central America Central America — El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras — accounts for most of the migrants. More than 2 million people have left the area since 2014, The Council on Foreign Relations estimates. Recently, people have been coming from much further, including Africa. They come through Mexico, hoping to cross a porous border.

• Motivation: Desperation. It’s a mixture of hopeless poverty, political terror and unrealistic dreams. I talked to one Honduran who said, “My children need shoes.” Most have no hope of immigrating legally. And, despite all the rhetoric on this side of the border, there are plenty of jobs for migrants. And of course the smugglers spread misinformation, making promises they don’t keep and fueling unrealistic expectations.

It’s a humanitarian crisis, and we’re not handling it well.