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'People will always find a way to get through': the children who work in smuggling

With few ways to earn income on the border, many young men turn to the dangerous but well-paid work of people smuggling

'People will always find a way to get through': the children who work in smuggling
Graffiti en el muro entre EUA-Mexico | Mike Hardiman/Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
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Advisory: this story contains depictions of violence.

Luís

I have worked doing a lot of things. I’ve installed internet cables and electricity. Done construction work and sold clothing downtown. One time I even helped tear down a hill with one of those huge machines that you use to make holes.

I started looking for a job when I was 14, maybe 15. I wasn’t studying – I wasn’t doing anything – and I didn’t want to be wasting time. I wanted to buy things for myself. The first thing I bought was a pair of sneakers and some clothes. I gave the rest to my mother. Whenever I got paid I’d give some to La Jefa – my mom – and whatever I had left I spent on what I wanted.