JACUMBA, Calif.—Two older SUVs appear to come out of nowhere, slowly at first, then kicking up clouds of dust as they pick up speed along the southern side of the U.S.–Mexico border. Two white vans follow them to a gap in the border wall.
With covered faces, smugglers suspected of working for drug cartels exit the vehicles, which bear a mix of California and Mexican license plates. The “coyotes,” as they are known, glare through the slats in the 30-foot-tall border wall, while keeping an eye on their human cargo.
