Thread: Immigrants released, driver held in La Plata County jail

And we're told 'catch and release' isn't happening anymore?
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Immigrants released, driver held in La Plata County jail
Suspected 'coyote' could face prison, fine


Saturday, August 4th 2007
By John R. Crane | Journal Staff Writer

Immigration officials in Durango have released the alleged illegal immigrants who were pulled over July 25 - except for the driver.

Carl Rusnok, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman in Dallas, said Thursday the passengers were processed for removal. Some were returned to Mexico voluntarily, and others were released on their own recognizance.

Montezuma County Sheriff Gerald Wallace was near the Maverik station in north Cortez when he received a call for a vehicle weaving and heading south on U.S. Highway 491 at about 40 miles per hour. When he pulled over the 1999 Chevrolet Suburban about 8:30 a.m., it turned out to be carrying 17 alleged illegal immigrants, including the driver.

The Suburban was headed to Denver from Phoenix, where the driver said he picked up the passengers, Wallace said July 25.

The driver, Cristobal Ulyses Carrasco-Torres, and the passengers, all adults, told Wallace they had no visas and spoke no English.

Wallace called the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Durango.

Transporters of illegal immigrants, called coyotes, can make thousands of dollars per passenger and will maximize profits any way they can, Rusnok said.

Coyotes will cram as many people as they can into a vehicle, sometimes ripping out seats for more space. Immigrants may pay a coyote $1,500 each to get into the United States and are treated “worse than cattle,â€

What about the other invaders?