The Growth of Coyotes in the Contemporary World:
How Illegal Immigration Responded to the Militarization of the US-Mexico Border
I propose to study the evolution and the growth of illegal immigration into the United States through coyotajes. Coyotaje is a term to refer to the practice of smuggling people across the U.S.-Mexico Border. Immigrants seeking an illegal border crossing will pay a transporter, or coyote, to transport them across the border in return for a large sum. The success of the crossing is dependent on the skill and expertise of the coyote. However, there are instances where coyotes will abandon their subjects and pocket the money, or immigrations perish along the way. The border between the United States and Mexico is a contested region plagued with violence along with social and economic problems. The American Dream is prevalent among impoverished Mexicans and many wish to cross the border to receive higher pay.
Over the last few decades, especially in the 2000s, the United States has increasingly militarized the border in the wake of illegal immigration and the September 11 attacks. This militarization involved the hiring of more border patrol officers, the addition of permanent barriers, and the implementation of security cameras and x-ray technology. As a result of this militarization, human smuggling operations have adapted to these changes through shifts in technology, travel routes and networking. Human smuggling across the border is an extremely profitable business to which numerous organizations take advantage. These smuggling networks no longer involve lone coyotes bringing humans across the border but rather larger, more organized networks. These networks may also participate in other industries that include drug trafficking, a concept which this essay will not discuss.
The history of the borderlands in respect to the border patrol and migrant crossing has been a complex issue stretching numerous decades. My essay will focus on the contemporary world, roughly 1990s onwards. I will document the militarization of the Border Patrol after 9/11 and the adaptation of the Coyotajes to these changes. I will also discuss how coyotajes have manifested from lone transporters to highly complex hieratical networks involving numerous roles. Through the testimony of polleros, and personal accounts of migrants, along with United States directives, I hope to research how Coyotes responded to border militarization and the effects on illegal immigrants.