n increasing numbers, Hispanic immigrants are putting down roots in the Roanoke Valley. They're pouring concrete, opening hair salons and filling classrooms. Some employers, meanwhile, are attributing their success to this new labor pool. In this occasional series, The Roanoke Times explores the local impact of the national debate about immigration.
During a busy Friday night dinner waiter Jesus Malaga serves an armload of food to their Anglo customers. Malaga came to America four years ago from Mexico and, like many Mexican immigrants in Roanoke, first landed a job at El Rodeo.
'The elements aren’t kind'
Early on in the search, word had reached the Honduran coyote that Nohemi’s family was trying everything it could think of to find out what happened to Melvin, including contacting police. Threats were issued on both sides, family members say, and Nohemi was afraid the coyote would harm her parents, who are still in Honduras.
Nohemi believes the coyote is withholding information about her son. And she isn’t convinced that the person who claimed to be dying on the phone that night was actually Melvin.
During the phone call, she could hear traffic in the background when they were allegedly in the desert. And friends have told her that cellphone service isn’t available in the rural area where the coyote claimed to be.
She relives the three-minute phone call daily.
Parents paying “coyote” smugglers to bring their children from Central America or Mexico to the United States are taking too big a risk, according to both immigration officials and immigrant advocates.
“The coyotes are pretty ruthless,” said Border Patrol agent John Flores, based in Harlingen, Texas. “One of the things we tell people, when they’re given a notice to appear, is, 'Don’t send for your kids.’ ”
Coyotes charge from $3,000 to $12,000 for their service, which is usually carried out by a series of helper guides stationed along the route. Some have been known to hold children for ransom to collect larger fees.
And immigrant advocates warn that smuggling can lead to human trafficking: The U.S. State Department estimates that 800,000 to 900,000 people are trafficked across international boundaries each year, forced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation.
Many migrants believe the alternative of staying in Central America — poverty and gangs — makes the journey a risk worth taking. But the official Honduran government position is: Don’t go.
“We would much rather have our citizens stay and help us rebuild our country,” said Ramon Custodio, a minister of the Embassy of Honduras. With coyote fees alone, smugglers take away an estimated $350 million from the Honduran economy, he said.
“Our people are suffering already, and the treatment these coyotes give immigrants in general is inhumane,” he added. “I have heard so many horror stories — women violated, children killed jumping off trains.
“I tell people all the time: Your life is precious. It’s better to live poor in Honduras with dignity.”
— Beth Macy
“The coyotes’ work is never-ending, and they are not trustworthy,” said Roel Rosales, a border patrol agent in McAllen, Texas. “We have known them to hold a child for ransom to try to get more money.”
Worse, many migrant children have been trafficked — made to work in forced-labor camps or sex-trafficking rings, according Kat Rodriguez, an activist with the Arizona-based Derechos Humanos (Human Rights). Rodriguez works with Arizona, Texas and Mexican authorities to document unidentified migrant bodies found along the border.
“The coyote is probably the only one who knows what happened to the boy,” Rodriguez added. “If he ditched the boy or the boy got sick, he knows.”
One unclaimed body was found outside of Brownsville, Texas, in June 2005, but it was a drowned 25-year-old male — and Melvin looked younger than his 16 years. In July 2005, there were 14 unidentified male bodies found along or near the Texas border.
“I understand why she didn’t report it right away, but it’s sad,” Rodriguez said. “The elements aren’t kind to bodies, so time is of the essence.
“For all she knows, he’s a John Doe buried in Texas in an unmarked grave.”
Rosales, the border patrol agent, said the only agency with the power to maneuver between police jurisdictions and across international lines was the very agency Nohemi and her family most feared — Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Local police agreed, and Honduran Embassy officials said the very same thing: If Nohemi wanted the case to move forward, she would have to turn it over to ICE.
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