'People Smugglers' Whisk Illegal Aliens Into U.S.

H O U S T O N, May 1 -- While most of Houston sleeps, one of America's most sought-after smugglers is busily whisking people into the United States, operating in a dark underground world of secret border crossings that beats immigration authorities at their own game.

The smuggler, who uses the alias Francisco Suarez, told Art Rascon, reporter and anchor at KTRK, ABCNEWS' Houston affiliate, that he is helping illegal aliens start a new life in the land of opportunity.

Suarez also showed Rascon how it's done, taking him along an extraordinary journey through 18 states, which the journalist recorded for the award-winning documentary Smuggler's Highway.

"I'm providing a service that these people have a chance at a new life," Suarez said. "I mean people are coming from Romania, Russia, India, Taiwan, China and Japan."

Since Sept. 11, there have been rising concerns about how the Arab terrorists were able to get into the United States undetected. Suarez said he has smuggled in residents of Middle Eastern countries. Asked if he could have brought in any Muslim extremists, he did not discount the idea.

"We've had our fair share of Muslims too," he said.

The Rise of People Smugglers

It used to be that the typical illegal immigrant came in on his or her own — but no longer. Now, 90 percent of illegal aliens each pay professional smugglers thousands of dollars for assistance in getting over the border, according to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Business is booming for these "people smugglers," who INS officials say are responsible for bringing hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens across the border.

People from all over the world make their way to Mexico which has become a staging post for people like Suarez to illegally smuggle them into Texas.

Discussing his work, Suarez comes across as streetwise, arrogant and unrepentant. He claims to have smuggled in anywhere from "a half-million people to 800,000, maybe more."

It may sound like an extraordinary number, but the INS says it is not inconceivable.