A recent incident in Texas involving a death, an arm amputation, and broken limbs, ankles, and backs provides a good example of this phenomenon.

A group of Texas teenagers were transporting illegal immigrants from Eagle Pass, which is on the Texas-Mexico border, to San Antonio. They were spotted by a sheriff's deputy. The teenagers floored the trucks they were driving, which caused one of the vehicles to skid and turn over. A Mexican man was killed and other people suffered multiple injuries.

Why were the teenagers engaged in this criminal conduct?

Money! The fierce federal crackdown on illegal immigration has caused prices for transporting illegal immigrants to soar. That's what normally happens when a peaceful activity is made illegal. That's what black markets are all about.

What happens when prices for a particular service soar as a result of being made illegal? They attract more people into providing the service. In this particular case, the high prices for transporting illegal immigrants have tempted American teenagers to engage in the practice in the hopes of scoring big.