To reduce criminal human smuggling ICE must be able to interview those who are paying the smugglers. In the case of minors, it would be their parents or other family members-7/16/2014, Jon Feere, CIS

7/16/2014, “2008 Trafficking Law Largely Inapplicable to Current Border Crisis“ Center for Immigration Studies, by Jon Feere 

"It was never the intent of Congress that legislation aimed at helping trafficking victims be used to benefit illegal immigrants who are willingly being smuggled into the United States....

It is important that the administration go after the smuggling operations in order to stop some of the illegal immigration. It is difficult to determine who the smugglers are, however, unless ICE is able to interview the people who are paying them: the families of illegal alien minors. It might make sense to offer benefits or incentives to those illegal immigrants who give good information about the smuggling rings. But under current policies, illegal immigrant parents are being allowed to walk away and the smuggling operations continue.  

Those involved in smuggling should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. This would include the “coyotes” as well as families paying for their services. As ICE explains, human smuggling involves a “deliberate evasion of immigration laws”.¹⁵ Tolerating such violations encourages more smuggling. Actual enforcement against those involved could quickly stop some of the operations. 

When an illegal immigrant child is turned over to family members in the United States, ICE should interview them to learn about the smuggling activity, make a determination of their immigration status, and apply the appropriate law. Those who are here illegally should be put into deportation proceedings. Until it is clear that the United States does not tolerate illegal immigrants participating in smuggling, there is every reason to believe the dangerous phenomenon will continue."...





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