Deep in the shadows : undercover in the ruthless world of human smuggling / Hipolito Acosta.

Author
Acosta, Hipolito [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Houston, Texas : Arte Público Press, [2017]
Description
xi, 319 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Availability

Available Online

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks JV6483 .A274 2017 Browse related items Request

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    Summary note
    "You have a lot of enemies, Hipolito. I heard rumors in jail that some of the people you busted are going to try to kill you, so you better watch yourself." U.S. Special Agent Hipolito Acosta had put lots of thugs in jail, but the death threat from an imprisoned convict was still a shock. Acosta recounts his often-dangerous exploits as a law enforcement agent over more than 30 years, which frequently included going undercover as a human smuggler or an undocumented immigrant. He targeted those who took advantage of immigrants, stuffing them into car trunks for hours-long drives from the border to the north; counterfeiters who, for the right price, provided false social security cards and other papers; and even corrupt agents who earned significant financial rewards on the backs of desperate migrants. Though catching drug dealers wasn't in his job description, when the opportunity to take them down presented itself, Acosta enthusiastically complied even if he had to do it without the support of governmental agencies. And later in his career, diplomatic postings in the Philippines and Mexico expanded his experience with immigration issues. This exciting memoir of a life spent in pursuit of human traffickers is an eye-opening look at smugglers and other criminals involved in the sale of counterfeit documents, narcotics and weapons.
    Contents
    • Rendition in Nicaragua
    • The journey begins
    • Lovely couples
    • neighborhood counterfeiters
    • Castros' castoffs
    • Driver's licenses for sale
    • An amateur dealer pays a professional price
    • Operation Villasana Juarez
    • Not all were friends
    • Human smuggling ring broken
    • River rats and three smuggling gangs
    • Bad apples
    • no use for crooked agents
    • Operation Black Rose
    • Columbian gold
    • New challenges in a diplomatic assignment
    • World War II veterans
    • deserving Americans
    • Back on the border
    • the Southern side
    • Killers on the border
    • Mexico City
    • a new challenge
    • Final stop and a new beginning
    • Houston.
    ISBN
    • 9781558858442 ((paperback))
    • 155885844X ((paperback))
    LCCN
    2017003707
    OCLC
    959534685
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