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TV: Illegal crossings on the rise in West Texas

10:32 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 30, 2009

By ANGELA KOCHERGA

The number of illegal immigrants caught trying to cross the border in 2009 has dropped by double digits in nearly every area, but there's one hotspot in West Texas where crossings are up.


Video
September 30th, 2009

An isolated stretch of border in West Texas near Big Bend National Park is fast becoming the preferred route for illegal immigrants.

At a government shelter for deported Mexican immigrants heading home, KVUE News' reporter got a look at the log. The lists show an increasing number of people from across Mexico are coming through here.

The border patrol credits tighter enforcement elsewhere for pushing more people this way. But locals say that's only part of the story.

"They start coming because in other parts of the border they're having problems with the delinquents or criminal organizations charging people to cross the border," said Jose Spenser, Ojinaga motel owner.

He's referring to is the Zetas, drug cartel enforcers who we're told now charge a fee per immigrant along smuggling routes leading to South Texas.

"They say in those areas around McAllen, Del Rio, Piedras Negras in those areas where they work," Spenser said.

Spenser runs a low cost rooming house in Ojinaga. He's heard this from several immigrant guests.

The streets of Ojinaga may look quiet, but residents say this is becoming an increasingly busy illegal border crossing as more and more people look for a safer route to the United States.

With several border cities in Mexico now coping with drug cartel bloodshed, this once tranquil area could see even more smuggling traffic.

Apprehensions in the area, known as the Marfa sector, grew by 20 percent this year.

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/ ... 63a7.html#