Once again, Spanish-language media displays their commitment to reporting all sides of the immigration issue, by including the underreported perspective of the misunderstood coyotes.
Watch as a couple of human traffickers tell Univision’s man down at the border that the migrant rush is due to “benefits” granted by President Biden.
PEDRO ULTRERAS, UNIVISION: Is business booming right now, does it pay well?
COYOTE 1: It does, given the situation with the people.
ULTRERAS: At least that’s what these two young men say, having built a highly profitable business by helping Central American families seeking asylum to cross (into the US).
COYOTE: We just come here to earn our daily bread like everybody else.
ULTRERAS: Both young men claim to be 22 years of age, and agreed to speak to us without concealing their identities at the edge of the Rio Grande, on the American side.
COYOTE 2: In all honesty, there are way too many people. Believe me...with the benefits your new president is now granting, the people found the courage to come.
This isn’t new. Recall that it was back in May that Telemundo reported that COVID crashed the human trafficking business, in an embarrassing spotlight of an optimistic coyote:
COYOTE: (It’s down) now, because of the coronavirus. It’s crashing, really, because not everyone is willing to risk coming to a country where the epidemic is.
…
COYOTE: The entire economy crashed- (both) for us and for our people.
…
COYOTE: In fact, we have lists with hundreds of clients that are waiting for this to settle down so that we can begin to cross them over.
…
COYOTE: The wait is temporary. Just give us the green light and we’ll move forward.
Our analysis at the time proved prescient:
It's worth asking: what purpose was served by giving airtime to the temporarily unemployed coyote? Was it to position him for a stimulus check in the next House coronavirus relief bill? A PPP loan, perhaps? Take notice of the coyote’s optimistic forecast of a V-shaped recovery, as evidenced by his boasts of a big client list and announced increased fees.
The plight of the temporarily unemployed coyote was little more than a narrative device with which to frame the drastic reduction in crossings and arrests along the southern border. This, of course, meant less viewers for Spanish-language television where immigration reigns supreme and the survival of which, as Jorge Ramos reminds us, is wholly dependent on a continuous flow of immigrants (whether legal or not).
Here we are again. As the border explodes, the networks once again turn their lonely gaze to the plight of the brave and misunderstood human trafficker. The coyote may have been right, though. The promise of a “benefit” for migrants appears to be enough of a “green light”.
There’s one more thing that the record will reflect: so critical is a broken border to the long-term survival of the nation’s Spanish-language media, that actual human traffickers will receive more airtime and be more favorably spotlighted than a proponent of strong border enforcement.
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Click "expand" to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on Noticiero Univision on Friday, March 26th, 2021:
JORGE RAMOS: The coyotes also play a role in the wave of immigrants crossing the border. Some work on their own, others in organized and very powerful gangs. Two of them talked business with Pedro Ultreras in Roma, Texas.
PEDRO ULTRERAS: These days, being a coyote and taking migrants from Mexico across the Rio Grande and into the United States is easy, safe, and well-paid work.
Is business booming right now, does it pay well?
"MANGO": It does, given the situation with the people.
ULTRERAS: At least that’s what these two young men say, having built a highly profitable business by helping Central American families seeking asylum to cross (into the US).
"LILY": We just come here to earn our daily bread like everybody else.
ULTRERAS: Both young men claim to be 22 years of age, and agreed to speak to us without concealing their identities at the edge of the Rio Grande, on the American side.
"LILY": IN all honesty, there are way too many people. Believe me...with the benefits your new president is now granting, the people found the courage to come.
ULTRERAS: According to these boatmen, several friends got together and bought rafts and gear upon seeing the demand. But they are hired to get the people across by the actual human traffickers.
"MANGO": Whoever comes by and says, “hey, can you get them over for me”, that’s it.
ULTRERAS: With regard to the migrants, the coyotes claim that they don’t spend much time on the Mexican side of the border once they get there.
"LILY": About 24 hours.
ULTRERAS: Where do you keep them? In houses? In hotels?
"LILY": In homes and in hotels, I couldn’t quite tell you, but the people are also very well taken care of.
ULTRERAS: They did not want to get into what they earn, but did clarify that they are not paid directly by the migrants, but rather by the gangs that bring them over. As they cross, all migrants wear a colored bracelet that they remove upon arrival (in the US). Some say “arrival”, or “delivery”, or bear names said to be of the gangs that traffic them. With regard to the latter, the young coyotes avoided going into detail.
"MANGO": Yeah, that’s when they come over. They wait one or two days and that’s it.
ULTRERAS: Does someone else put the wristband on them when they arrive?
"MANGO": Yeah. Not us.
ULTRERAS: The boat men take 5 minutes to get their human cargo across. Although most of the activity is nocturnal around here, they also send people across in broad daylight.
RAMOS: Pedro joins us from the border. Pedro, as I was watching your report, I thought: what’s stopping Border Patrol officers from detaining these people as they offload (migrants) right in front of them? Have you talked to them about that?
ULTRERAS: Jorge, I did in fact speak to some of them and they’ve told me that they feel like their hands are tied, there’s not much they can do. Because although they’re right next to them, just a few feet away, the most important thing here is the safety of the families. If they go into the water to catch the coyotes, there is a great risk that these families- whether the mothers, fathers, or even the children could fall into the water and drown. So this is why they’d rather watch them, they drop the people off, and they often guide them and tell them what the safest spots are where they can drop the people off and continue on their way. And of course, the coyotes are taking great advantage of this. Back to you.
RAMOS: Of course, thanks for the report Pedro.
