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Quiet border town choice of illegal immigrants

07:09 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Angela Kocherga / Border Bureau


The number of illegal immigrants caught trying to cross the border this year dropped by double digits in nearly every area.

But there is one hotspot in west Texas where crossings are up.

At a government shelter for deported Mexican immigrants heading home the log lists show an increasing number of people from across Mexico are going through the area.

The border patrol credits tighter enforcement for pushing more people this way. But locals say that is only part of the story.

"They start coming because in other parts of the border they're having problems with the delinquents or criminal organizations charging people to cross the border," said Ojinaga motel owner Jose Spenser.

He is referring to the Zetas, drug cartel enforcers who allegedly now charge a fee per immigrant along smuggling routes leading to south Texas.

Jose Spenser runs a low-cost rooming house in Ojinaga. He has heard this from several immigrant guests.

The streets of Ojinaga may look quiet, but residents say this is becoming an increasingly busy illegal border crossing as more and more people look for a safer route to the United States.
With several border cities in Mexico now coping with drug cartel bloodshed, this once tranquil area could see even more smuggling traffic.

Apprehensions in the area known as "the Marfa sector' grew by 20 percent this year.

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