President Bush’s move to send National Guard troops to the U.S./Mexico border may be working to slow down people crossing the border in an unusual way. It has been reported that the cost “smugglers” are charging to help those cross the border has gone up in recent weeks by as much as $2,000. This sharp increase in prices has caused people hoping to enter the U.S. to postpone or cancel their trips until they can save more money and has led others to try and make the crossing on their own, without help. Francisco Garcia, a volunteer at a migrant shelter in Altar, a farming town of 7,000 that has become a major gathering point for those heading to Arizona said:

With all this new security, it is obvious the migrant flow will have to move to more dangerous routes, and smugglers are using this argument to increase their prices.

Via / Que Pasa