ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Humane Borders: Emergency Water Stations for Migrants Trekking Through the Desert
No More Deaths: an NGO seeking to provide assistance to migrants crossing the Sonora Desert
CURRENT NEWS ON DRUG WAR IN MEXICO
News on Mexican Drug Trafficking from The New York Times
”Mexico at War: On The Front Lines”: Coverage by The Washington Post
Multimedia on Mexico’s Drug War by The Los Angeles Times
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Altar, Sonora: The Business of Smuggling
Once a sleepy agricultural town, the entire economy of Altar, Sonora is, at this point, based on human smuggling. Sitting just an hour drive south of the Arizona-Mexico border, Altar is the last and most critical stop before migrants take to the dangerous desert crossing.
Sacha Feinman and David Rochkind travel to Altar to examine the business of human smuggling, and to chart the evolution of an industry that has changed radically in the last two decades. Small, independent operators that long helped undocumented workers find their way into the U.S. have been replaced by far more sophisticated operations controlled in part by Mexico's deadly drug cartels.
The recent history of the U.S.-Mexico border is a story of escalation. As the U.S. government poured more money and resources into sealing off the border, the journey into the U.S. became more difficult, more dangerous, more expensive and more profitable. Thus the arrival of the cartels. With unprecedented levels of violence spilling over the border and into the U.S. a question arises: have we reached the point of no return?
Sacha Feinman
Sacha Feinman is a freelance journalist based in New York City. He was born and raised in Southern Arizona, and specializes in Latin America... Click on name above for full bio
David Rochkind
David Rochkind (b.1980) has been covering Latin America since 2003 and is currently based in Mexico City... Click on name for full bio
