$9000 per adult, $7000 per child...

[myohmy2]

...I heard on the news this is what migrants typically pay coyotes to get them across the border...

...if they're leaving South America because of poverty and hardship, where do they get that kind of money?

...I couldn't afford to migrate at those rates...

...

[jimfields33]

1. No way could I either.

[exboyfil]

2. Borrowed and family members left behind are essentially collateral?

The remittances on US wages to country of origin is huge. The minimum is $50B/yr ($25B/yr to Mexico). The amount could be higher.

[NickB79]

3. They sell everything they own, and borrow what they need after that

Sometimes from family, sometimes from loan sharks.

And if they don't pay the loan sharks? They might be killed, or their wife or daughter used as a sex slave to pay off their debt.

It's fucking horrific.

[JanMichael]

4. True it is a horror story that is real and not on Netflix.

I cannot say what I really think of our systems that make this a reality...

[ace3csusm]

5. Or they work it off when they get here...

with the loan shark interest they charge its takes them years to pay off $9,000 turns if $50k...Those loans could be sold to others

[Demovictory9]

6. lots of stories about how they hock everything, get to America, then deported. end up worse off

[Beastly Boy]

7. Don't buy at Starbucks. Don't use Uber. Don't order take out. Don't travel to Europe.

Eat out of garbage cans, sleep under bridges, beg, borrow, steal, sell your body, and don't spend a single penny on soap or transportation for years. Whatever it takes. Survive like an animal.

And then, if you are still alive by the time you cross the border, start all over again so you can pay a coyote lawyer to keep you from being deported. Well, at least the contents of garbage cans are usually of better quality, and you can reliably find unused soap being thrown away.

It's much tougher than an average American can even imagine.