Human smuggling: India to Texas
Just after being released from a U.S. immigration detention center, four men from India discuss their next move at the Greyhound bus depot in Harlingen,
Struggling with their poor English, two Indian citizens use pay telephones at the Greyhound bus depot in Harlingen. They were set free on bond after being arrested trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico. Officials say thousands of Indian nationals are being smuggled into the U.S.. The cause of the surge from India during the past year is unclear. Most apply for political asylum. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
U.S. Border Patrol agents check documents of passengers about to depart from the Greyhound bus station in Harlingen. The Texas border town is a major corridor for illegal immmigrants, but the recent influx of people from India has been a surprise. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Two young Chinese women sort out travel plans at the Harlingen bus station. They were among a group of men from India arrrested while being smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico. They are free on bond pending immigration hearings. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
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An Indian citizen tries to figure out which coin to use in a pay telephone at the Greyhound bus depot in Harlingen. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
U.S. Border Patrol agents wait to check passenger documents on the next departing bus from Harlingen. The Greyhound depot has become a way station for Indian citizens released on bond after being arrested while trying to enter Texas from Mexico. Some end up in local motels. Others are taken in by friends or relatives in other states. Many never return for their asylum hearings. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Indian men walk to a taxi that will take them to a motel in Harlingen. Some stay in motels owned by Indian expatriates, who help them with plans to go elsewhere in the U.S. An intricate smuggling network is bringing thousands of Indian nationals to the United States via South America and Mexico. Most apply for political asylum. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Clutching their only posessions in plastic bags, Indian citizens wave to fellow countrymen departing from the downtown bus station in Harlingen after they posted bonds and were released from an immigration detention center. Read the full story. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
