A local television station reported on the July 28th that while Mexicans sneaking across the border pay an average of $3,000 per person to coyotes, Chinese pay a much dearer price. According to border security officer Mario Escalante, "Human smuggling operations reap $20,000 to $30,000 a head from Chinese."

The fee is determined by several factors including means of transportation and whether the immigrant has proper ID. These huge sums are a source of massive profit for international human smuggling groups.

Chinese illegal immigrants pay tens of thousands of dollars to coyotes in order to be sent from China to Mexico and then smuggled across the border into Arizona, border security officers say. Current illegal crossing hotspots include Nogales, Ajo, Lukeville, and Sasabe.

Border security has apprehended 969 Chinese over the past five months, greater than the entire total for last year, 836. Of the 836 Chinese arrested last year, 30 have been sent back to China.

According to U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if an illegal immigrant has no record of previous crimes or attempted border crossings, they will receive an airplane ticket back to their home country worth approximately $730. If the immigrant poses a security risk, ICE officials will board the plane with them and escort them back at the expense of the federal government and taxpayers.

Of all illegal immigrants apprehended in 2005, 2,200 were Chinese, 31,000 were Brazilian, 39,000 were from El Salvador, 53,000 from Honduras, and over one million were Mexican nationals.

ICE official John Morton said, "All indicators show that the Chinese are being smuggled by precisely coordinated crime operations, charging huge fees, and creating a miserable situation."

Escalante pointed out, "The smuggling operators don't tell them that they will have to make a four- or five-day desert crossing with no water." Human smuggling operations [falsely] guarantee their clients success and better opportunities in the new countries. Naïve immigrants put their fate in the hands of these groups, Escalante explained.