The above links titled: "Two Charged in Deaths of Immigrants at Sea"
There were two men tried for the drowning of two illegal immigrants who fell off a overloaded crowded boat, and it capsized throwing everyone overboard. This occurred off of the California coast, and was a rare occurrence for common illegal smugglers. The two men, Fernando and Javier are being fully charged for this, and could end up in prison for life.
The rise in ground border surveillance and technology along the Mexican border is forcing more illegals to pay the fees of boat smuggling. This can get expensive, and the smugglers get a profit of upwards 5,000 dollars per person. The usual method of travel is a small makeshift raft called a panga, it gets usually overcrowded and they smuggle at night and use one motor. They are just asking for something bad to happen. Especially around this time of the year when the water is colder, and the weather makes the waves more choppy. Local authorities have noticed a sharp up rise in water smuggling, and since the boats carry no radios, it can get very dangerous.I ask myself, what makes people want to risk their lives to get to America, the land you and I take for granted everyday? When you talked about in class the flow of people around the globe to job openings and opportunity, this just goes to show how far people are willing to give up to get a better shot at life. Life in Latin America is not a cozy one, and finding opportunity is a needle in the haystack. Not many people make it down there, but the risk of death is not too great for the truly desperate. If I put myself in the shoes of a Mexican whose life is supported by almost constant physical labor, I would do pretty much anything to get a better life. It is a very sad story, and unfortunately the world is not a free place where one may walk around and live where he or she chooses, it is a world of trials, pain, and hardship.
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