October 5, 2009 - Mexicans typically must pay smugglers about $1,500 for help in making the trek across a sun-seared landscape that is as dangerous as it is majestic. The fees for Central Americans and South Americans often reach $6,000. A group of bewildered Haitians, intercepted a few years ago in Tucson after three nights spent hiking in circles in a canyon, had coughed up $10,000; another $10,000 was to have been paid upon arrival in the Chicago area.
The Chinese, who come almost exclusively from Fujian province, pay the most. They often have to work off fees of between $30,000 and $70,000 over the course of several years as indentured servants in the sweat shops and kitchens of New York and other cities....
The Chinese, who come almost exclusively from Fujian province, pay the most. They often have to work off fees of between $30,000 and $70,000 over the course of several years as indentured servants in the sweat shops and kitchens of New York and other cities....
