http://www.hernandotoday.com/news/MGBTVKQ569E.html

Illegal aliens ultimate losers in long run
By CLIFF HIGHTOWER chightower@hernandotoday.com
Published: May 26, 2005

RIDGE MANOR - First, the illegal aliens agree on a price to pay.
They will then give a portion of that money to a smuggler in an attempt to be brought into the United States.
In the end, it is the person being smuggled who loses out and the smuggler who wins, said Steven McDonald, an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol.

The smuggler will collect his money.
"He is going to take steps to collect," McDonald said.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Border Patrol took seven illegal immigrants into custody near Interstate 75. Authorities say one of those arrested is suspected of being a smuggler, making his trade by transporting Mexican citizens across the border into the United States illegally.

The man, whose name was not released by authorities because he has not yet been charged, was being held in Bradenton, McDonald said.
The six people who were his human cargo are also being held in Bradenton. In the next few weeks, McDonald said all seven would go before an immigration judge in Bradenton and it will be decided whether or not they will be deported.

As for the smuggler, McDonald said the U.S. Attorney's Office is looking at bringing charges against him for transporting illegal aliens. It is also suspected that the man was deported once before. If that is the case, then he could face another felony charge, McDonald said.

He said it is illegal for a person to be deported and enter the United States again. If the person leaves voluntarily then it is not criminal.
In the case of the seven illegal immigrants, all were from Mexico and entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona. They headed east then south. About 8 a.m. Tuesday, border patrol agents, who regularly patrol I-75, were on the side of the interstate when they saw a 1994 Plymouth Voyager mini-van heading south.

McDonald said the driver of the Voyager pulled over to the side of the Interstate, but traveled another half-mile before stopping.
"It appeared they were looking for a place to bail," McDonald said.
Two of the seven men in the car -- the driver and a front-seat passenger -- jumped out of the van and ran.

For several hours, Border Patrol agents, along with Hernando County deputies and Florida Highway Patrol troopers, searched the area of Rails to Trails, close to State Road 50 and Kettering Road.
A sheriff's office helicopter also scoured the area, looking for the pair. Around 10 a.m. they were finally taken into custody.

McDonald said at first it was believed the passenger was also a smuggler. Agents later discovered he was one of those being smuggled.
The van was found to have reinforced shocks that would allow more weight without affecting the performance of the van, McDonald said.
The smuggling industry can be a fairly lucrative business deal. Usually smugglers ask for $1,000 to $25,000 in payment.

McDonald said most of the smugglers take their human cargo to Central and South Florida. There, the most popular way for these illegal immigrants to find jobs is in the construction industry.

The Border Patrol plans to continue patrol the stretch of I-75, attempting to catch smugglers. They also plan to continue to try and prosecute smugglers, McDonald said.
"They're very unscrupulous," McDonald said. "They try to take advantage of these people they are carrying."

Reporter Cliff Hightower can be contacted at (352) 544-5287.