Smuggling ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS into the U.S. is now a $13B a year business

11/02/2023 / By Olivia Cook

Over the past decade, smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S. has evolved from a scattered network of freelance, independent human smugglers known as coyotes into an organized crime-controlled $13 billion a year business.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), while smuggling illegal immigrants is a “gross violation of a country’s border and immigration laws,” it is not a violation of a person’s human rights because the “smuggling” includes consent by the individuals to be moved across a border in exchange for payment over the facilitation of the service.

George Mason University smuggling expert Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera said the service fees typically range from $4,000 for migrants coming from Latin America to $20,000 if they must be moved from Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe.

For years, cartels were paid a “tax” by coyotes so they could move migrants through territories they controlled along the border. By 2019, organized criminal syndicates like drug cartels turned to migrant smuggling, which was far more profitable because of the sheer number of people seeking to move into the United States.

Social media misinformation, end of Title 42 fuel rise of migrant smuggling

A report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has revealed that many illegal immigrants were lured to go to the U.S. by individuals posting misinformation on social media platforms like Facebook. These individuals promised to help illegal immigrants gain entry to the U.S. – only to steal their money or abandon them in dangerous situations.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has done nothing to stop the spread of false or misleading information about conditions along the route to the United States. TTP Director Katie Paul said: “The misinformation has led people in the region to think it’s a lot easier to get into the United States than it is in reality.”

The report, which includes migrant interviews and anecdotes, stated: “Some of the false information posted online about environmental conditions appeared to influence survey respondents’ decision-making about their own migration attempts.”

The end of Title 42 in May has also boosted the migrant smuggling business. Introduced by the Trump administration, Title 42 authorized the immediate expulsion of those caught crossing the border illegally without an asylum hearing to protect the U.S. from potential carriers of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Following the Title 42’s expiration, former Mexican police officer Ed Calderon said: “It’s like Christmas for these migrant smugglers right now and it’s out in the open.”

Calderon, who specializes in the border’s underworld, noted that migrant detentions have fallen by 70 percent. He added that the abundance of propaganda about many migrants successfully crossing the border without being detained has allowed smugglers to increase their “service” fees.

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Homeland Security has found that 95.8 percent of illegal aliens who requested appointments through the mobile app launched by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for immigrants in recent months were released into the U.S. on parole with a Notice to Appear (NTA). (Related: 95.8% of ILLEGAL ALIENS using CBP One app released into the U.S.)

That translates to more than 266,000 out of more than 278,000 illegals who requested appointments through the CBP One app from Jan. 12 to Sept. 30, based on documents provided to the committee by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The committee is particularly concerned about the abuse of the app by drug cartels. “The national security implications are that the cartels are just able to manipulate everything that the DHS is doing to continue their operations,” a committee source who requested anonymity told the Epoch Times.

Follow Migrants.news for more news about illegal immigrants entering the United States.

Watch this video about Democrats suddenly turning against open borders.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.