Immigrant Impact Part 2

To illegally — and yet openly — cross the United States border at a Port of Entry one must have that level of forged documentation sufficient to fool experienced Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Customs, and Border Patrol personnel. Usually these forgeries are limited to forged green cards. Some passports are doctored but only for really high value illegals.

It is also possible to cross the border secured within some hidden compartment of a vehicle. The success of such an adventure is totally dependent upon the failings of the federal officer who greets you and the emotional composure of the vehicle’s driver and lastly, the quality of the vehicle’s secret compartment.

There was one individual who simply took the cushions out of one passenger seat in the back of his van, stuffed his friend into the space, and covered him back up with the zippered upholstery.

To add a bit of camouflage, the driver planted a baby seat on top of him.

The USBP Agent at the Port of Entry looked at the oddly shaped cushion and unzipped him far enough to get a photo and then took them both away.

Others have placed themselves inside the dashboards of vans. The amount of work required to cut out a spot for a full sized human can be substantial

Sometimes people hide behind cargo in commercial trucks going through the commercial port of entry.

The really unimaginative types just fit themselves tightly into the trunk of a car. The problem with this plan is that the back of the car then sags and the nose of the car sticks up in the air.

Yes, it is possible to weld blocks on the springs to keep the car level. In most of these situations, the thing that does not work — called profiling will help the officer decide if the car is worth examining further. A car that has a value of under two or three thousand dollars makes the perfect we don’t care if it gets seized vehicle for smuggling. As surprising as it may seem to some, the agents at the Port of Entry are on the same wavelength and slide you and your not-so-spiffy-car over to secondary inspection.