The town of Laredo is clearly the key in understanding "La Barbie". Everyone concerned about illegal immigration should know our border towns very well, especially on the southern border and their history too.
Here is Wikipedia's entry on the subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laredo
And here is some older discussion here at SOS on subjects where Laredo comes up incidentally:
Top Five Most-Crime-Ridden U.S. Judicial Districts All on Mexican Border
Mexican Troops Arrest Suspect in the Killing of US Consulate Worker
MECha's Plan: The Plan of San Diego