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When we finally got to the front of the line, two customs officers climbed aboard and made an interesting proposition: A hat would be passed. If it was returned with $50.usd or more, rather than each passenger exiting the bus to push the "red/green" button, the driver would be allowed to push it for the entire bus. For those of you unfamiliar with the system, a "red" light means a search while a "green" gives the traveler a pass. While the system is purportedly random, the clear implication was that the driver was highly unlikely to hit a "red". And since on the southbound crossing, Mexican Nationals have far more reason to avoid a customs search, the hat was filled generously. Did I mention that I was the only gringo on the bus?
Quickly, the bus was underway again. This created one slight problem for the lone gringo on the bus. It's after the run through Aduana that non-Mexicans are separated out and sent to Migra (Immigration), where the FMT (Tourist Card) is issued. On reflection, I decided that the risk of being an undocumented immigrant were less than those run by insisting that the bus return to the border and re-endanger the rest of my fellow passengers. After all, I had my passport - a far more impressive document than an FMT when waved in the face of an overly demanding official. And if I got really unlucky, a hundred pesos or so would have probably been a sufficient show of appreciation to whatever official helped me avoid paying a "multi"(fine). And at the very worst, I might have gotten a free trip to the border a couple of days earler than planned.