The group of young men jumped on two pickup trucks to flee the border, speeding through the night and heavy rain on the country road.

A car goes ahead to explore signs of authorities. On the back of the Ford F-250 pickup truck, a group of nine migrants were sitting in a nervous, anxious mood. They have promised to pay local youths thousands of dollars for a three-hour journey to San Antonio, a city of 1.5 million people, where they can "disappear".

But their dream of changing lives in the United States suddenly ended when a police patrol car appeared. Police noticed suspicious signs from the two cars that drove into the dark night on a road that had only deer, vultures and boars.

Noticing the arrival of the police, the driver of the car carrying the migrant panicked and could not control the steering wheel. A car brakes sharply through a curve and capsizes.

"People fly everywhere," said Brad Coe, the Kinney County Sheriff, who was at the scene on the night of June 21, the time of the accident. He quickly called an ambulance from other counties and joined in searching for the victims. One Mexican man died, one had to remove his arm, others broke his arm, leg, ankle and back.

The chase and the horrific accident in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, USA, near the city of Piedras Negras, Mexico, led 6 young Americans convicted of murder and human trafficking. The incident also shows an increasing trend as the administration of President Donald Trump attempts to crack down on illegal immigrants across the southern border: the deep involvement of US citizens in the lines. trafficking.

The US government has taken measures to target traffickers who are the hands of international gangs. However, 60% of people convicted of trafficking in federal courts in recent years are US citizens, most of whom have no or very limited criminal record.

The trafficked offenders are usually truck drivers, single mothers, oilfield workers or high school students, according to federal and Texas court records.

Authorities say some people accept illegal migration of migrants for just a few hundred dollars, while others demand thousands of dollars. Some people say they do this job just to earn a little extra money to buy diapers for their children, to save money to pay school fees or settle debts.

US citizens are drawn into human trafficking lines often through word of mouth and through social networks. They are recruited by relatives, colleagues, friends, even the boss at work. They often contact migrants and contact points in Mexico via mobile phones.

US citizens who join the line often act as carriers, bringing migrants from the border to their final destinations in the United States. Some enter Mexico to pick up migrants, hide them in cars, and drive past border checkpoints to return to the United States. Others mostly wait on the US border, meeting migrants on isolated roads or safe gathering points after crossing the Rio Grande border river.

Many US citizens are convicted of human trafficking unaware they are working for larger gangs or networks in Mexico and often do not know the details of the agreement between the parties involved.

According to analysts, the increasing number of US citizens participating in cross-border transport lines is a sign that professional traffickers are seeking to adapt in the context of U.S.-Mexico border security. tighter than before. They will not give up, but will charge a higher shipping fee, and find other ways to sneak people across the border.

"The profits will be huge if you succeed," said Brady J. Waikel, a border officer in Del Rio, Texas. "No one thinks they will be arrested."

In the mid-1990s, non-US citizen trafficking offenses accounted for 80%. But as the US government tightened security controls, traffickers began turning to entice American citizens because of their ability to speak English as well as familiarity with local roads, which would help migrants. populate pass the border checkpoints easier.

Shortly after Trump took office in 2017 with the promise of swiftly deporting illegal immigrants, border chaos plummeted. But traffickers have quickly turned to seeking customers from single adults to families seeking asylum in the US and unaccompanied children. Hundreds of thousands of migrants, especially those from Central America, flocked to the border with the dream of coming to America.

In response to the huge influx of people, the White House in June pressured Mexican government President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to sign an agreement to accept thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. strengthen border patrol.

The pressure on the border has since decreased by 60%. "The US border is protected," Trump tweeted on October 8. But Trump's strategy has put those migrants in a state of despair, making them lucrative prey for trafficking gangs in border cities of Mexico.

A few days after the deal with Mexico was signed, US border guards arrested citizen Ramon Sauceda, 49, as he drove around Southern California with many of his immigrants behind the trunk. Each immigrant had to pay US $ 7,000-8,000 Sauceda and he was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Authorities last summer also arrested a series of US marines on charges of engaging in human trafficking. Two marines at Camp Pendleton were arrested on July 3 for picking up migrants in Southern California. The migrants said they paid $ 8,000 to be taken to Los Angeles.

Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute at New York University School of Law, said that under pressure from the Trump administration, illegal immigrants will no longer submit themselves to the US border, but will return to ways. adventurous crossing, more risky, like swimming across the Rio Grande or hiding in containers.

The youth group at Eagle Pass in July was indicted on charges of murder, human trafficking, juvenile trafficking and involvement in organized criminal activity. Most of them are students at Eagle Pass High School. The driver of the overturned pickup truck, Domonik Martinez, is a student from C.C. Winn, also at Eagle Pass.

Grandma Martinez said in interviews that her grandchildren were not close to the rest of the youth. According to some of Martinez's friends, traffickers occasionally advertise their work on social networks, promising the opportunity to make easy money with the invitation "Who wants to leave?"

Family and friends describe Martinez as an elegant young man who is working hard to finish high school despite a range of family problems. Father Martinez is in jail for money laundering and his mother died of cancer last year. Martinez dreams of learning Korean but is very worried about the $ 20,000 tuition.

Felipe Miranda's parents, 17, who sat in a car carrying migrants with Martinez, denied any involvement. Felipe told his parents that he was beaten up by thugs when he was going to his girlfriend's house.

"My husband and I don't understand what happened," said Ana Miranda, Felipe's mother. "He said he didn't participate, we believed his children."

Four young people sitting in the car leading to the poll are expected to receive $ 1,000 each. They are Jorge Guardado, 19, former member of Eagle Pass high school football team, Fernando Martinez, 18, Angel Esquivel, 17, and Jose Ramirez, 17.

Domonik Martinez and Miranda followed behind in the white pickup truck for the migrants. The salary they received was USD 10,000.

"I think they are blinded by the money being earned so easily," police chief Coe said. "They're just kids. You just need to flick a few thousand dollars in front of them, 2,000 for example, especially kids who need money, they won't hesitate to work for you."

Veronica Suarez, aunt of Jose Areli Suarez Jurado, who died when the car overturned, said the family "did not blame anyone".

According to Veronica, Suarez Jurado has lived in the US for 35 years, working in the construction industry. He lives with his wife in a small house in the town of McGregor, Texas. His son has just had his first child and lives in Georgia.

He was convicted of driving drunk in 2017 and deported to Mexico shortly after completing his sentence. Veronica said Suarez Jurado immediately planned to return to the US to return to the town of McGregor, where his wife was waiting. Now he is back at McGregor, but in a coffin.