Another Man's Sombrero: A Conservative Broadcaster's Undercover Journey Across the Mexican Border

I read this book a couple of years ago. Excellent. I wanted it for my library. meg

Ankarlo took a team of five people into Mexico and interviewed "coyotes," uninvolved poor citizens, and those attempting to cross into the U.S. "Another Man's Sombrero" summarizes his findings. Most of the 10,000-some coyotes are entrepreneurial teenage thugs. Philippe, for example, was a high-school dropout that earns six figures. To keep their travelers moving quickly they demand each take ephedra, sometimes as many as 5-6 at a time. Those too slow to keep up are abandoned, sometimes to die. Human smuggling from Mexico into the U.S. is now a $50 billion/year industry, with Mexican officials in on the take. Many of those smuggled in are also carrying narcotics. (Ankarlo found a stash of some 300 abandoned bikes that had been used by illegals to wheel in drugs as partial payment for their own illegal entry. About 2,800 illegals enter the U.S. each day - 60% by sneaking across the border, and the rest by overstaying their legal entries. The Mexican minimum wage is $5/day for 12-14 hours. The Red Cross aids those sent back by feeding them, treating their foot blisters, and providing tickets back home. The going price for illegal entry into the U.S. during summer 2007 was between $1,500-$2,000, but could reach $10-$12,000 if starting from Central America. The fence in Southern Arizona consists of railroad steel welded together, with several stands of barbed wire; it is easily crossed. Illegals suffer considerable abuse at the hands of their "coyote" guides and jackers (those that sometimes steal a group). This includes "rape trees," and being held hostage in "drop houses" while their relatives are extorted for more money. Ankarlo attributes the combination of NAFTA and $5 billion/year corn subsidies for U.S. farmers as the major motivation for those attempting to sneak into the US. He says 1.85 million Mexican jobs disappeared in the first year of NAFTA. As for the argument that "illegals do jobs Americans won't do," Ankarlo points out that American citizens still do those jobs in many sections of the U.S., and offers a few cases where skilled American construction workers have been forced out of work by the prospect of illegals working for nearly 1/3 the wages. Ankarlo also offers several sources citing enormous extra social costs (increased health-care, education, crime, welfare).

I have always liked reading political books and I have always like reading story books and fiction. This book is fantastic because it is like a story that gives facts. And these facts are important for any person living near the border to know. He presents these facts in a way that is easy to understand and is highly entertaining. It not only shows what it is like to cross the border but many other things on the way. These are good facts that would be hard to learn otherwise. Overall I think anyone, no matter their political views on this issue should read this book so they know what it is like.

Darrell Ankarlo is very insightful and fair when dealing with the immigration issue, and this book demonstrates that. Instead of just preaching about the harms of illegal immigration, he places himself in the shoes of an illegal immigrant by traveling to various parts of Mexico's border towns. During his time there, he meets up with all sorts of people involved in the border crossing trade and tells some very memorable stories. If you are looking for a clear view of how dangerous illegal immigration is, not only for our country but also for those who come here illegally, this book will be an excellent read.

Until I read this book, I thought I had a clear, knowledgeable understanding of illegal immigration. Before the fifth chapter I realized how little I actually knew, and I live in the area Ankarlo is writing about. One of the other reviews I read was critical of the black and white photographs in the book. If I wanted to be critical, I would agree. However, Ankarlo describes his experiences with such detail, the reader's mind paints its own picture. The photographs value to me were visual evidence of Ankarlo's words that I read in almost disbelief. Let's hope more people take this subject to heart.