Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
link to page 1 
December 20, 2021
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Migrant smuggling, also known as human smuggling, refers
legal mechanisms. Other experts argue that many smuggled
to the voluntary transportation of an individual across
migrants are economic migrants, and have willingly
international borders, in violation of one or more countries’
participated in a transnational crime, and should not be thus
laws. Smugglers facilitate migrant travel, typically in
accommodated.
exchange for payment, sometimes using fraudulent identity
documents and covert transit. While smuggled migrants
Figure 1. Origins of Smuggled Migrants
agree to be smuggled—a condition that distinguishes the
practice from human trafficking—they may be vulnerable
to abuse by their smuggler or later become a trafficking
victim. Various United Nations (U.N.) sources cite
estimates that globally, migrant smuggling totals $7-$10
billion a year or more, but the full extent of the problem is
not known. Through oversight hearings and proposed
legislation, Congress has sought more information on
migrant smuggling and on ways to deter and punish
smugglers.
Background and Definitions
In recent years, situations of migrants and other vulnerable
Source: Created by CRS based on information from the United
groups on the move has elevated congressional concerns
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
about transnational crime, humanitarian protection, human
rights, and border security (see Figure 1). The movement
Global and U.S. Prevalence
of these groups, which often travel the same routes and use
There is no comprehensive data on the prevalence of human
the same modes of transportation, is referred to as mixed
smuggling globally and into the United States, as is
migration. Increases in attempted migrant smuggling along
generally the case for clandestine or black market activity.
many international mixed migration routes, such as in the
In 2018, the first (and to date, only) UNODC Global Study
Mediterranean region, parts of Asia, and particularly along
on Smuggling of Migrants identified 30 primary smuggling
the U.S. Southern border, have heightened U.S.
routes and found that at least 2.5 million migrants had been
policymakers’ attention to the issue.
smuggled along those paths in 2016. Some observers have
relied on U.S. apprehensions of unauthorized migrants at
Motivating Factors
U.S. borders to provide insight, but these apprehensions do
The migrants using smuggler services usually do not have
not always involve instances of smuggling and do not speak
the required documentation, such as passports and visas,
to its nuances. For example, they do not reveal the number
needed to legally travel from one country to another.
and profile of individuals who rely on smugglers to enter
Factors motivating their departure may include violence,
the United States or the demographics of the smugglers.
conflict, food insecurity, natural disasters and climate-
Nonetheless, experts agree that most migrant smuggling
related impacts. Other may choose to migrate due to
into the United States occurs across the Southwest border
economic circumstances. Individuals who seek to migrate
and largely involves migrants from Mexico and Central
illegally using a smuggler usually do so when other options
American countries.
are not available or are less feasible.
Role of Smugglers
Treatment of Smuggled Migrants
Research suggests that smugglers may operate on their own
Smuggled migrants often face mistreatment at the hands of
or as part of larger transnational criminal organizations
their smugglers. Reports of difficult conditions and abuses
(TCOs). Often, smugglers have local ties that they leverage
of migrants (including extortion, sexual violence, torture,
in order to gain customers. U.S. government and U.N.
abductions, and deaths) are common along migrant
sources describe smugglers as motivated largely by profit
smuggling routes. Crimes against smuggled migrants are
and the low risk of prosecution. In some cases, smugglers
often not reported because the migrants lack legal status
abuse and exploit migrants, such as by raising prices mid-
and may fear deportation.
journey or abandoning migrants in unsafe conditions. In
other cases, smugglers may see themselves or be viewed by
Humanitarian experts contend that many arrivals, including
migrants and their families as providing a necessary service
smuggled migrants, require due process to evaluate whether
to vulnerable people who are forced to flee.
they may require assistance, international protection, and
opportunities to regularize their status through safe and
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Relationship to Trafficking and Other Types of
strategic assessments, identifies issues for interagency
Transnational Crime
attention, coordinates initiatives, and serves as an
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
information exchange center with international partners.
(DHS), “[h]uman trafficking does not require crossing a
border. Human trafficking victims have been exploited by
Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI), a component
their trafficker for commercial sex acts or labor. By
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within
contrast, human smugglers engage in the crime of bringing
DHS, has a Human Smuggling Unit that works to identify,
people into the United States, or unlawfully transporting
disrupt, and dismantle criminal travel networks and human
and harboring people already in the United States, in
smuggling. ICE initiated over 2,400 human smuggling
deliberate evasion of immigration law.” An individual may
investigations in FY2020. U.S. Customs and Border
agree to be smuggled and later become a victim of forced
Protection is also involved in detecting smugglers at and
labor or sexual exploitation (forms of human trafficking as
between the ports of entry. DHS, DOJ, and the Department
defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000,
of State also collaborate on Operation Sentinel, which seeks
P.L. 106-386).
to counter TCOs engaged in migrant smuggling. The
Department of the Treasury has sanctioned individuals for
Some research suggests that while certain TCOs,
smuggling migrants including, for example, from Sub-
particularly those involved in narcotics trafficking, may not
Saharan Africa through Libya to Europe and from Pakistan
directly smuggle migrants, they may charge fees for the use
through South or Central America to the United States.
of routes they control or may coerce or convince migrants
to carry illicit drugs. Smugglers may also contribute to
The federal government also prosecutes migrant smugglers.
environments in which other types of crime proliferate,
Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicate that
including corruption and bribery of public officials.
the number of alien smuggling federal offenders generally
increased from FY2015 – FY2019 and declined in FY2020.
Selected International Responses
Alien smuggling was the primary charge for 3,392
Unlike refugees, migrants, including those who are
sentenced offenders in FY2020; this is compared to 3,487
smuggled, are not granted certain rights and protections
offenders in FY2019 and 2,296 offenders in FY2015. Of
under international law. However, there are several inter-
these offenders in FY2020, 71.3% were U.S. citizens; over
governmental efforts to address migrant smuggling. The
half of the cases (65.3%) involved smuggling, transporting,
United States ratified the Protocol against the Smuggling of
or harboring fewer than six people; and 12.8% of alien
Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which entered into force in
smuggling offenses involved an unaccompanied minor.
January 2004, and supplements the U.N. Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. UNODC assists
Issues for Congress
countries in implementing the Protocol, including by
Congress addresses migrant smuggling through its funding
providing technical expertise for anti-smuggling policies.
and oversight responsibilities. Members of Congress may
The International Criminal Police Organization
examine or adjust resources available for the HSTC and
(INTERPOL) coordinates certain global law enforcement
other U.S. efforts to bolster human smuggling intelligence
operations to disrupt migrant smuggling. The 2018 U.N.
and investigations. They may also consider changing
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration
funding support for the humanitarian response to smuggled
(GCM) is a nonbinding, intergovernmental agreement that
migrants.
aims to cover international migration comprehensively. One
of its objectives is to “strengthen the transnational response
As part of these and other functions, Congress may also
to smuggling of migrants,” by improving information-
consider the range of approaches to countering migrant
sharing, ensuring that migrants are not liable for criminal
smuggling, such as those focused on the “supply” of
prosecution for having been smuggled, and developing
smugglers as well as the “demand” for smuggling services.
gender- and child-responsive protocols. In 2018, the U.N.
Observers suggest that the former may involve increasing
General Assembly adopted the GCM; the United States
the risk of detection and prosecution for smugglers or
voted against it. The mandates of the U.N. High
extending penalties to those who pay for relatives or others
Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization
to be smuggled. Additionally, others propose addressing
for Migration and other U.N. entities define roles and
root causes of migration such as poverty, conflict, and
capacities to respond to the needs of migrants, including
climate risks; increasing awareness of the risks of migrant
those who are smuggled.
smuggling; and increasing opportunities for migrants to
regularize their status to reduce the demand for human
Selected U.S. Responses
smugglers.
The United States seeks to address migrant smuggling
internationally and into the United States. In 2004,
Katarina C. O'Regan, Coordinator, Analyst in Foreign
Congress established the Human Smuggling and
Policy
Trafficking Center (HSTC) through the Intelligence Reform
Rhoda Margesson, Specialist in International
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) to
Humanitarian Policy
coordinate responses by DHS, the Department of Justice
(DOJ), and the Department of State to human smuggling,
Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security
human trafficking, and the potential use of smuggling
IF12003
routes by terrorists. The HSTC disseminates intelligence
and investigative leads to U.S. law enforcement, prepares
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12003 · VERSION 1 · NEW
December 20, 2021
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Migrant smuggling, also known as human smuggling, refers
legal mechanisms. Other experts argue that many smuggled
to the voluntary transportation of an individual across
migrants are economic migrants, and have willingly
international borders, in violation of one or more countries’
participated in a transnational crime, and should not be thus
laws. Smugglers facilitate migrant travel, typically in
accommodated.
exchange for payment, sometimes using fraudulent identity
documents and covert transit. While smuggled migrants
Figure 1. Origins of Smuggled Migrants
agree to be smuggled—a condition that distinguishes the
practice from human trafficking—they may be vulnerable
to abuse by their smuggler or later become a trafficking
victim. Various United Nations (U.N.) sources cite
estimates that globally, migrant smuggling totals $7-$10
billion a year or more, but the full extent of the problem is
not known. Through oversight hearings and proposed
legislation, Congress has sought more information on
migrant smuggling and on ways to deter and punish
smugglers.
Background and Definitions
In recent years, situations of migrants and other vulnerable
Source: Created by CRS based on information from the United
groups on the move has elevated congressional concerns
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
about transnational crime, humanitarian protection, human
rights, and border security (see Figure 1). The movement
Global and U.S. Prevalence
of these groups, which often travel the same routes and use
There is no comprehensive data on the prevalence of human
the same modes of transportation, is referred to as mixed
smuggling globally and into the United States, as is
migration. Increases in attempted migrant smuggling along
generally the case for clandestine or black market activity.
many international mixed migration routes, such as in the
In 2018, the first (and to date, only) UNODC Global Study
Mediterranean region, parts of Asia, and particularly along
on Smuggling of Migrants identified 30 primary smuggling
the U.S. Southern border, have heightened U.S.
routes and found that at least 2.5 million migrants had been
policymakers’ attention to the issue.
smuggled along those paths in 2016. Some observers have
relied on U.S. apprehensions of unauthorized migrants at
Motivating Factors
U.S. borders to provide insight, but these apprehensions do
The migrants using smuggler services usually do not have
not always involve instances of smuggling and do not speak
the required documentation, such as passports and visas,
to its nuances. For example, they do not reveal the number
needed to legally travel from one country to another.
and profile of individuals who rely on smugglers to enter
Factors motivating their departure may include violence,
the United States or the demographics of the smugglers.
conflict, food insecurity, natural disasters and climate-
Nonetheless, experts agree that most migrant smuggling
related impacts. Other may choose to migrate due to
into the United States occurs across the Southwest border
economic circumstances. Individuals who seek to migrate
and largely involves migrants from Mexico and Central
illegally using a smuggler usually do so when other options
American countries.
are not available or are less feasible.
Role of Smugglers
Treatment of Smuggled Migrants
Research suggests that smugglers may operate on their own
Smuggled migrants often face mistreatment at the hands of
or as part of larger transnational criminal organizations
their smugglers. Reports of difficult conditions and abuses
(TCOs). Often, smugglers have local ties that they leverage
of migrants (including extortion, sexual violence, torture,
in order to gain customers. U.S. government and U.N.
abductions, and deaths) are common along migrant
sources describe smugglers as motivated largely by profit
smuggling routes. Crimes against smuggled migrants are
and the low risk of prosecution. In some cases, smugglers
often not reported because the migrants lack legal status
abuse and exploit migrants, such as by raising prices mid-
and may fear deportation.
journey or abandoning migrants in unsafe conditions. In
other cases, smugglers may see themselves or be viewed by
Humanitarian experts contend that many arrivals, including
migrants and their families as providing a necessary service
smuggled migrants, require due process to evaluate whether
to vulnerable people who are forced to flee.
they may require assistance, international protection, and
opportunities to regularize their status through safe and
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Relationship to Trafficking and Other Types of
strategic assessments, identifies issues for interagency
Transnational Crime
attention, coordinates initiatives, and serves as an
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
information exchange center with international partners.
(DHS), “[h]uman trafficking does not require crossing a
border. Human trafficking victims have been exploited by
Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI), a component
their trafficker for commercial sex acts or labor. By
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement within
contrast, human smugglers engage in the crime of bringing
DHS, has a Human Smuggling Unit that works to identify,
people into the United States, or unlawfully transporting
disrupt, and dismantle criminal travel networks and human
and harboring people already in the United States, in
smuggling. ICE initiated over 2,400 human smuggling
deliberate evasion of immigration law.” An individual may
investigations in FY2020. U.S. Customs and Border
agree to be smuggled and later become a victim of forced
Protection is also involved in detecting smugglers at and
labor or sexual exploitation (forms of human trafficking as
between the ports of entry. DHS, DOJ, and the Department
defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000,
of State also collaborate on Operation Sentinel, which seeks
P.L. 106-386).
to counter TCOs engaged in migrant smuggling. The
Department of the Treasury has sanctioned individuals for
Some research suggests that while certain TCOs,
smuggling migrants including, for example, from Sub-
particularly those involved in narcotics trafficking, may not
Saharan Africa through Libya to Europe and from Pakistan
directly smuggle migrants, they may charge fees for the use
through South or Central America to the United States.
of routes they control or may coerce or convince migrants
to carry illicit drugs. Smugglers may also contribute to
The federal government also prosecutes migrant smugglers.
environments in which other types of crime proliferate,
Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission indicate that
including corruption and bribery of public officials.
the number of alien smuggling federal offenders generally
increased from FY2015 – FY2019 and declined in FY2020.
Selected International Responses
Alien smuggling was the primary charge for 3,392
Unlike refugees, migrants, including those who are
sentenced offenders in FY2020; this is compared to 3,487
smuggled, are not granted certain rights and protections
offenders in FY2019 and 2,296 offenders in FY2015. Of
under international law. However, there are several inter-
these offenders in FY2020, 71.3% were U.S. citizens; over
governmental efforts to address migrant smuggling. The
half of the cases (65.3%) involved smuggling, transporting,
United States ratified the Protocol against the Smuggling of
or harboring fewer than six people; and 12.8% of alien
Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which entered into force in
smuggling offenses involved an unaccompanied minor.
January 2004, and supplements the U.N. Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. UNODC assists
Issues for Congress
countries in implementing the Protocol, including by
Congress addresses migrant smuggling through its funding
providing technical expertise for anti-smuggling policies.
and oversight responsibilities. Members of Congress may
The International Criminal Police Organization
examine or adjust resources available for the HSTC and
(INTERPOL) coordinates certain global law enforcement
other U.S. efforts to bolster human smuggling intelligence
operations to disrupt migrant smuggling. The 2018 U.N.
and investigations. They may also consider changing
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration
funding support for the humanitarian response to smuggled
(GCM) is a nonbinding, intergovernmental agreement that
migrants.
aims to cover international migration comprehensively. One
of its objectives is to “strengthen the transnational response
As part of these and other functions, Congress may also
to smuggling of migrants,” by improving information-
consider the range of approaches to countering migrant
sharing, ensuring that migrants are not liable for criminal
smuggling, such as those focused on the “supply” of
prosecution for having been smuggled, and developing
smugglers as well as the “demand” for smuggling services.
gender- and child-responsive protocols. In 2018, the U.N.
Observers suggest that the former may involve increasing
General Assembly adopted the GCM; the United States
the risk of detection and prosecution for smugglers or
voted against it. The mandates of the U.N. High
extending penalties to those who pay for relatives or others
Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization
to be smuggled. Additionally, others propose addressing
for Migration and other U.N. entities define roles and
root causes of migration such as poverty, conflict, and
capacities to respond to the needs of migrants, including
climate risks; increasing awareness of the risks of migrant
those who are smuggled.
smuggling; and increasing opportunities for migrants to
regularize their status to reduce the demand for human
Selected U.S. Responses
smugglers.
The United States seeks to address migrant smuggling
internationally and into the United States. In 2004,
Katarina C. O'Regan, Coordinator, Analyst in Foreign
Congress established the Human Smuggling and
Policy
Trafficking Center (HSTC) through the Intelligence Reform
Rhoda Margesson, Specialist in International
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) to
Humanitarian Policy
coordinate responses by DHS, the Department of Justice
(DOJ), and the Department of State to human smuggling,
Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security
human trafficking, and the potential use of smuggling
IF12003
routes by terrorists. The HSTC disseminates intelligence
and investigative leads to U.S. law enforcement, prepares
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Migrant Smuggling: Background and Selected Issues
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12003 · VERSION 1 · NEW