Low labor costs and lack of enforcement of safety and waste disposal regulations attract the corporations. Manufactured goods are sent back across the border and sold for high profits. Stockholders receive the profit through dividends. Some corporations discard waste without safety measures and contaminate soil and water. This is not a sustainable wage.
Many workers suffer under oppressive and poor working conditions.
Thousands of people migrate to border towns in hopes of finding employment. The towns' infrastructure is not ready to sustain the newcomers. Hundreds of children do not attend school. Families live in substandard housing without running water, sewage facilities or adequate medical attention. Increased cases of leukemia, lupus, type A hepatitis and neural tube defects are being found.