CPTnet
4 June 2007
MONTERREY, MX: Debt drives migrants north
by Joe Mueller
Pushed by debt and poverty and pulled by the hope of dignified work,
migrants from all over Mexico pass through the Casa del Migrante house of
hospitality in Monterrey on their way to the United States. Each day, new
people appear and others leave, creating an ever-changing community has
warmly welcomed the CPT Monterrey members.
Most of the migrants have come seeking temporary work visas to the U.S.
They include members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), the
migrant labor union and human rights advocacy group that CPT is
accompanying. Annually, 45,000 Mexicans enter the U.S. on H2A temporary
work visas -- including over 7,000 members of FLOC.
Although most of the migrants at the Casa are initially strangers to each
other, they are all members of the broader community of those
disenfranchised by the economic warfare of free trade, and thus feel
solidarity with other Casa visitors. Some are undocumented Central
Americans. They have crossed other borders before traveling into Mexico by
freight train. Sometimes, one can see a train rolling through the campo
with over a hundred migrants clinging to the cars.
The migrants' journey is a dangerous one for both men and women. Human
trafficking, like drug trafficking, is a lucrative business. Every year,
450,000 people cross the Mexican border to work in the U.S. -- most
undocumented. Coyotes--human smugglers who get most undocumented individuals
across--charge each migrant as much as $12,000 to sneak them into the U.S.
-- $6000, if they are willing to cross in the most dangerous parts. Just as international corporate structures have institutionalized poverty among nations through the imposition of national debt, traffickers often coerce migrants into sex slavery and drug trafficking through personal debt. Kidnappers demand ransom from migrants' families or force them to act as drug mules, smuggling narcotics across the border in exchange for their freedom. Among those who attempt to cross through the harsh desert--with or without the guidance of a coyote--many die.Temporary migrant workers, including members of FLOC, also report having to pay recruiting fees that can range up to $2000, nearly ten times the amount needed to cover transport and visas expenses, for guaranteed papers and work in the U.S. Recruiters and their subcontractors hired by U.S. employers to bring migrant workers north are responsible for this widespread exploitation. Because of FLOC's work, U.S. authorities have mandated that employers of temporary workers must pay their travel and visa expenses.
In Washington, Congress continues to discuss "immigration reform," but legislators cannot deconstruct a culture of unequal consumption with a single law. Meanwhile, profiteers will continue to exploit migrants through both legal and illegal channels.
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