"Human Smuggling and Border Crossings" by Gabriella Sanchez

This short book is eye-opening for anyone interested in the issue of illegal migration into America. The author is a former police interviewer who became an anthropologist and the book is a detailed case study of border crossings in the Phoenix/Maricopa County area. This book is bound to make you think of the role of coyotes, the American southern border policy, and the process of immigration in general, both legal and illegal, differently. Its narrow focus on the act of the crossing and not the "before and after" of the lives of illegals is invaluable. 

Sanchez's research dispels the notions that most smugglers (coyotes) 1) are part of organized criminal networks 2) are always men 3) don't normally have close familial, friendship, or cultural ties with the migrants 4) don't develop reciprocal bonds with the migrants 5) have previous criminal records, either in America or Mexico 6) are career operators or do it as their primary source of income 7) don't live within the communities that they help 8) are involved in other illicit activities like prostitution or drugs 9) rely on violence to receive payment 10) make extensive profits. After expenses the typical profit is $200 per person 11) do not protect and care for the health of migrants. Many smugglers treat their charges as collaborators and not as cargo 12) have bosses or leadership that they report to or kick money up to. Instead, many coyotes work in an informal, reciprocal, horizontal, ad hoc basis, usually with family or friends to help family, friends, or those with references from migrants they previously had helped cross. 13) are not among the most respected hubs within the illegal and legal migrant community. Sanchez's book helps to sort the realities of illegal immigration on America's southern border from the myths.