Schemes to cross border getting bolder
One scam involves having people fake illnesses, then flee
By MOISES MENDOZA HOUSTON CHRONICLE
May 6, 2009, 10:17PM

In March, 19 illegal immigrants were arrested in Campo after they tried to elude Border Patrol agents by traveling in a vehicle posing as a DHL delivery van. Agents attempted to stop the van as it was traveling southbound on Buckman Springs Road at 6 p.m., an unusual time for a delivery service to operate in rural East County during a weekend. When the van stopped on the shoulder of the road, several occupants fled from the vehicle. After a brief search, agents were able to apprehend 19 male Mexican nationals.

U.S. Border Patrol agent John Lopez has seen it all: Men hiding in tiny holes in the ground, in car trunks and behind seat backs. He’s even captured an illegal immigrant hiding in a suitcase.

“You don’t expect to find someone in a suitcase. You never expect that,â€