Border Patrol: Illegal Immigrants Pay Thousands of Dollars to Cross the Border

Border Patrol agents apprehend seven illegal immigrants from China, one from Mexico, and one from El Salvador after they tried to evade capture after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States near McAllen, Texas, on April 18, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

McAllen, Texas—On the U.S.-Mexico border, illegal immigrants are paying smugglers anywhere up to $20,000 to take them across the border and onto U.S. soil.

Two main groups of illegal immigrants come across the Rio Grande in Texas: those trying to run away from Border Patrol; and those actively looking for agents, to turn themselves in.