What odds would you put on a group of a dozen or so Spanish speaking Moroccan AQ trained terrorists making it across the border with top-notch coyote help, say in groups of 3 or 4? A well funded operation, with help on both sides of the border. How many of the 12 would make it to Phoenix or Tucson to a safe house?
My least favorite nightmare.
As long as these guys were complete unknowns, had good Mexican documentation and good accents, their chances would be near certainty. If caught, they would just be voluntarily deported back into Mexico to try again.
A friend of mine once asked a coyote how many of his clients made it safely across the border. His reply: “All of them eventually, unless they give up.”
The coyotes charge from $30,000 to $50,000 to smuggle a Middle Eastern type. That kind of cash buys impeccable travel arrangements and a much lower chance of getting caught.
I call this a nightmare because I’m nearly certain most of your scenario has already happened. It’s just a question of how often and how many.
The Border Patrol refers to one section of the trails here in Cochise County as OTM Alley. Other Than Mexican. Whenever ABP or CHD finds a load-out site on OTM Alley, we always sift through the discarded trash, clothing, and backpacks very, very carefully. What we find can really spook you.
We find airline ticket stubs to Hermosillo, Mexico all over the Naco Corridor. The ones that we find on OTM Alley frequently have the top left corner carefully torn off – the part with the passenger’s name. Methinks the names were not of hispanic origin.
A while back we found an international drivers license on OTM Alley. It had been issued that morning in a town in northern Brazil and we found it on the eastern outskirts of Sierra Vista before dinner time. Think of the near split second travel arrangements required for that trick. Then ask why that IDL was no longer needed -- it was just backup ID while transitting Mexico City and Hermosillo.
All of them.