A FIRSTPERSON ACCOUNT AND THE TWO OPTIONS

TIJUANA (MEXICO): Luis Escalante is no ordinary cabbie. This I found out after spending seven hours with him. As one gets down the pedestrian bridge to enter El Chapparal in Mexico from the United States, cabbies like Luis are there to take you around. But a little prod and they can put you in touch with the human smugglers who facilitate illegal cross over into the US. “Homi, my friend will do it. But you got in here with a valid US visa. So why you wanna do something illegal,’’ he asks in broken English. I ‘m doing this for a couple of friends, I told him.

Luis finally called up Homi who agreed to meet us at a water park. “How many guys you wanna get in?’’ Homi asked as he sat down in the rear of the taxi. “Man, there are two ways in here. I will hide each of them in a car stash and they take you across the border undetected. Another set of cars would drop them wherever they want to go in California. This would cost 18,000 US dollars per head,’’ he explains.

The second option is cheaper, costs about 10,000 US dollars per head.

“I will give your guys mobile phones and they walk through the hills. It will take much longer. It’s a 6-8 hour walk for about a week. You walk some and hide, then walk again. Chances of getting caught are more during the trek. The US Border Patrol has thermal imaging sensors at the border. So scaling the fence at night and successfully getting inside the US is not easy. I advise you to take the 18,000-dollar option. It has a higher success rate,’’ says Homi. And before he steps out, Homi has a final word. “I don’t ask for advance payment. Pay me only after the job is done.’’ His poise says it all.