http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/16452.html

BY ROSA MAR�A MÉNDEZ FIERROS/EL UNIVERSAL
El Universal
December 30, 2005

MEXICALI, Baja California - The wall proposed by U.S. lawmakers is unlikely to stop illegal immigration, but it will give the "polleros" - guides for illegal migrants - the opportunity to raise their prices, say several traffickers.

El Rito, El Chuy and El Coco, "polleros" who work separately in Mexicali offering their services to undocumented immigrants, all agree that a wall between the Mexican city of Mexicali and Calexico, California, will not stop them, but will require them to be more creative.

"Whenever there are reports of something new, people get scared, but nothing really changes. The same thing happened when the U.S. soldiers started building a metal wall. At first people were scared, but we realized that they left loose earth beneath the wall and we started digging and crawled under," said El Rito.

"When they filled our holes with concrete, we started to slice holes through the metal. Whenever they do something, we respond," he added. El Rito has worked for more than six years passing undocumented immigrants by the checkpoints, in spite of increased camera surveillance by the U.S. Border Patrol.

El Coco said that even if the wall is built, he will continue to help people cross the border using false passports, although he said "the situation will get harder, so prices will probably go up."

"Currently, those who cross people through the desert are called guides, and they charge US$700. Those who help jump over the fence at the edge of Calexico are called jumpers, and they charge US$500, and those who provide fake passports charge US$700. These prices go up with increased surveillance and the need for us to provide more security, but the business never ends," he said.

U.S. and Mexican critics of the proposed border wall say that better job opportunities and higher wages in the United States will continue to draw immigrants regardless of measures to stop the flow.