Tamaulipas’ migrant smugglers employed by U.S. farmers

The implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act led to a process of border militarization to prevent immigrants from crossing the frontier without authorization. As a result, migrants penetrated into the United States through less guarded but most dangerous areas. However, migrants were not able to cross the U.S. border on their own; most of them were forced to hire services of migrant smugglers. This article, based on a qualitative methodology, which includes in-depth interviews carried out between January and July of 2012 with 18 migrant smugglers from Tamaulipas, who led migrant workers to be employed in the United States in the farming sector, examines the social and family situation of respondents and examines the causes that guide them to engage into this illegal activit