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Mexican 'coyotes' dress like national guardsmen to avoid detection

08:10 AM CDT on Friday, June 30, 2006
By Angela Kocherga / KHOU


National Guard Troops, new technology, more border patrol agents are all part of the effort to crackdown on illegal immigration.

Immigrants continue to cross illegally despite added security along the Texas, Mexico border

Already, national guard troops have built vehicle barriers along a lonely stretch of border near a tiny town two hours west of El Paso.

Las Chepas is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Officials said its remote location has made it a smuggler’s haven.

When KHOU was there last summer, busloads of people were arriving to cross illegally.

So many that the governor of New Mexico, just across the border, declared a state of emergency.

But things have changed now said Jose Scobell with Grupo Beta.

“Sometimes they just don’t want to try it because they think it’s worthless.”

The number of illegal immigrants has dropped by at least half, according to Mexico’s border rescue group, Grupo Beta.

People who planned to cross illegally said there’s too much security now.

Most deny they’ll try to cross with the help of a smuggler.

Officials said so-called coyotes have started dressing like the national guard troops working nearby.

It’s reportedly a new tactic to blend in, just in case they're spotted crossing the border.

There may be fewer immigrants using the once popular route to slip across the border, but that does not mean smuggler’s profits are down.

In fact, we’re told the coyotes are charging more because of all the extra security.