Andrew Hay, Nathan Frandino, and Adria Malcolm

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (Reuters). Seventeen-year old Santi watches a pulsing, blue dot from his cellphone as he sits in front of shops in Sunland Park.

He has been hired by human smugglers to take migrants to El Paso (Texas) from here.

Every 15 seconds, his shiny red phone rings. As a U.S. contact, he sends instructions and messages to the migrants.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that the teenager with a high-fade hairstyle was one of a growing list of U.S. high schoolers who have been recruited by American communities to move migrants across the Southwest border.

One in four of the drivers that were arrested for smuggling migrants to Sunland Park Santa Teresa last year was a child, the majority of U.S. citizens who live in the area. According to U.S. Border Patrol which started recording juvenile drivers data in fiscal 2021, this figure is about one-fourth.

Mexican youth are known to have helped migrants enter the United States for many years. According to approximately two dozen U.S. law enforcement and attorneys who spoke with Reuters, both Mexican and American teens are likely to be able to recruit because they’re minors.

Children as young as fourteen years old in the United States learn about this work through social media, friends, and transportation mainly Mexican adults.

Young drivers could make hundreds of dollars per migrant. Locals joke about calling them “Ubers.” Sunland Park is an urban working class town that has triple the national poverty rate. Here, one third of residents are below 18 and many children reside with grandparents.

However, the work can be hazardous and New Mexico federal authorities seem keen to clamp down on juvenile drivers.

According to Border Patrol officers, teens who drive fast are more likely to run from police when they try to stop them. This can result in crashes and pursuits from Border Patrol.

GOOD DAY FOR PICKUPS

Santi is located approximately 900 feet from the pickup of U.S. Border Patrol. They are about 1,000ft south of the border.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – Smuggling organizations used cloudy nights to force migrants through the rugged Mount Cristo Rey without any border barriers.

Santi claims that U.S. Agents in Helicopters have difficulty seeing migrants through the clouds. Strong winds might be stopping drones from flying.

The teen said, “It’s good for pickups,” and asked that his vehicle information not be revealed because it is illegal to ferry migrants.

Anti-smuggling teams receive information from field agents who check the phones of migrants and forward it to them. They are looking for group leaders, drivers and places where migrants can wait for their turn before they travel.

Gerardo Galvan was the Sunland Park patrol agent. He noticed a rise in the number of juvenile drivers after a teenager fled agents and crashed into the Border Patrol van.

Galvan stated, “They are told that if you go fast enough, we will stop following them.”

Galvan stated that he worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Las Cruces in New Mexico to bring juvenile drivers into court.

According to Amanda Skinner, Assistant Federal Public Defender, the Las Cruces office of federal defender represented four minors accused of migrant smuggling after having dealt with six cases overall in 2021.

She said that probation is usually granted for juvenile cases unless the child has ever been in trouble.

We rarely see the higher-ups get charged. Skinner stated that the vast majority of cases we handle are driver-related.

CRIMINALIZED YOUTH

Javier Perea, Sunland Park mayor sees no solution to the problem of juvenile drivers. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden anticipates another year with record numbers for migrants being detained at the southwest border. In May, a COVID-era policy which blocked the majority of asylum applications is expected to be lifted.

Perea stated that the last thing they want to do to our youth is criminalize them. Perea’s town offers employment opportunities for teens and plans an outreach program to discourage drivers.

Teen drivers, according to activists such as Irma Cruz are trapped between multi-billion dollar human smuggling and U.S. government policy of “militarizing” the border for deterrence.

Cruz said that they are easy prey and being used. He is the campaign director for Border Network for Human Rights. This advocacy group also educates residents at border crossings on civil rights.

The most concerning incidents are those such as that of an El Paso 18 year old who crashed his sedan with 10 people, after being chased and stopped by Border Patrol in 2020. Three migrants and four teens from the area were also killed.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACU) and U.S. legislators call for Border Patrol to stop chasing suspects at high speeds if they think a violent crime has been committed.

Shaw Drake, an ACLU lawyer said that Border Patrol should know that children are being recruited to drive these cars in certain areas.

Galvan claimed that the agents who attempted to stop a vehicle were not aware of whether they were trying to arrest a driver under 18 years old. Agents are prohibited from following a vehicle around school grounds or residential areas, especially during rush hour. Supervisors must give permission to pursue the car.

Santi was a migrant transporter for one year. He has been stopped and charged by Border Patrol, but he has not been charged. Santi knows that the stakes are higher when he turns 18

Santi travels towards a rendezvous with migrants as the Border Patrol truck pulls off from McNutt Street.

He says, “I don’t want to be sent to prison for this.”