— Two weeks ago, a police officer on a routine patrol here was approached by six men frantically waving for him to stop. With the help of smugglers, the men had crossed the Rio Grande a few days earlier. Unable to pay the smugglers the amount demanded for their passage, the men were threatened and locked in the house without food or water. Hours later, when a squad of United States Border Patrol agents and local police officers descended on the mobile home, one man was still there. He said he was waiting to be taken to his next destination since he had paid his first installment of smuggling fees — $2,500.

Source: New York Times August 26, 2018 13:24 UTC