What is "coyotaje"

Coyotaje is a colloquial Mexican– Spanish term referring to the practice of people smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border. Smuggling should not be misinterpreted to mean human trafficking. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) define smuggling as the "Importation of people into the United States involving deliberate evasion of immigration laws. This offense includes bringing human beings into the country, as well as the unlawful transportation and harboring of immigrants already in the United States." In short, human smuggling centers on the willful, illegal transportation of migrants into another country. The word coyotajes originated in the early 19th century, where it was used to describe a person that employed Mexican immigrants for labor in the United States. During this period the United States had a demand for Mexican workers, therefore the first form of coyotaje was created. The Coyote’s main job would be to recruit hard-working Mexicans by traveling to Mexico and transporting them to the United States or hire the workers once they arrived in the U.S. Most of the coyotajes that worked in Mexico were either natural born Mexicans or Mexican-Americans that would convince workers that lived along the border due to their ability of speaking fluent Spanish and their common appearances. Due to the labor conditions improving, a policy was implemented by the U.S., which enabled the workers to go back to their home towns and their word of mouth spread about job opportunities in the U.S. This system was known as enganche (the hooking). The enganchaderos(hookers) would decrease the recruitment possibilities and the practice of enganchadores by informing their family and friends of the employment opportunities. Their main focus would be border towns where contractors hired workers who were pursuing employment.

Autonomous migrants pay coyotajes a fee to guide them across the border. Fees are normally collected once the migrant arrives to a pre-determined destination— most likely border cities in California, Texas, and Arizona. In recent years, the proportion of migrants hiring human smugglers—"coyotajes," also known as "polleros,"—has increased drastically as a result of intensified surveillance along the border.