Adrian: Age 33. Married to a US citizen, he returned to México after being tempted by the exquisite cuisine and was detained when trying to get back. He was charged of leaving the country before getting his official documents. He can receive a pardon in 5 years and request his residency once more, but he does not want to wait any more.

Lupe: Age 46. Her husband used to be one of the most popular coyotes in the western borders (Tijuana, Mexicali, and Nogales), crossing people from all nationalities to places as far as Vancouver, Canada. He was killed by gunshots in a confrontation with US governmental forces. She took over his rounds and she now leads the group you are in charge of.

Biridiana: Age 38. She comes to the US in seasons; this is her 7th year. She already has a very stable clientele in San Francisco where she works as a babysitter. Usually, she spends her summers taking care of upper-middle class kids while their parents go on vacations. Her clients pay her coyote fee and airfare from the nearest airport to the border, depending on where she is crossing. Before winter, she returns home because she hates cold weather. She is the mother of 4, and the oldest of her children works in the roofing industry in Lubbock, Texas.

Lucia and son: Ages 25 and 1, respectively. She tried to cross legally when she was three months pregnant to stay with her sister in Missouri, but the officer that took her case declined the permit. She decided to stay near the border and work instead of going back to her hometown. Now that she has enough money to pay a coyote, she will try to go to her sister’s.

Paco: Age 12. His father left for the US when he was 8; after struggling for many months, Paco’s father finally found a steady job as an electrician in Las Vegas. He went back to Veracruz on Paco’s tenth Christmas. After that, both of his parents left, leaving him in the care of his uncles. They send him money to go to school and to be well dressed, but Paco has decided to go to Nevada to find them.

Enrique: Age 52. He used to work on a milk farm near Milwaukee for 7 years. During a recession period, his patrons decided to call the border patrol to avoid paying half of their workforce. He has been going back and forth, but this is his first trip in 10 years, and he says he already has a good connection in Connecticut for landscaping.

Mark: Age 30. He is an African American man who wanted to enroll in the US Air Force, but was not accepted. He suspects the reasons why he did not get in were purely based on racism. But instead of wasting more time with the Air Force, he decided to serve his country in the Border Patrol Agency since they promised him pilot training after serving for a few years.

Roger: Age 24. He is convinced that all immigrants are a threat to the nation and should be stopped at all cost. He is using this job as a springboard to get a position in the Texas Rangers where his father used to work. Most of all, he enjoys fieldwork instead of standing on an international bridge, checking passports. He likes a girl in the office, but he does not know that she is Dominican.

Albert: Age 27. After graduating from high school, he had to find a job to help with the family expenses. Although his family is from Mexican and Shout American origins, he feels it is his duty to stop any more immigrants from taking American jobs. His dream is to buy a Texas Edition Truck and live in his own trailer.

K-9 unit: Age 4 (28 dog years). She was found in the pound; her rescue was part of an animal shelter program where the Border Patrol Agency trained dogs to spot drugs and/or explosive substances. She graduated with honors from her class and now she has a profitable career in the force. She enjoys beef tacos.

Mr. Minuteman: Age 48. He loves to spend his weekends rounding the arid areas of the border, trying to capture illegal immigrants. He spent a fortune on high tech goggles similar to the ones used by Navy Seals. He ends his trips drunk and moody and always shoots at his empty beer cans. He is genuinely convinced that he contributes a great service to his country, although, in the 1960s, he refused to go to Vietnam.

Ms. Minuteman: Age 43. She takes her role very seriously and, every weekend, prepares all the necessities so she and her husband can go mount guard. Her religious devotion makes her go back to their town to attend church every Sunday morning, but she returns to their post by midday. She has known how to use a rifle since she was seven, when she would protect the chickens on her daddy’s farm. Because she always had to work, she never had a formal education, but she is able to read the good book while they wait to catch those nasty immigrants.