In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Options
Illegal aliens=Big money!
alledan
Member Posts: 19,541
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Increased security on the U.S.-Mexican border is turning human smuggling into a multi-billion dollar criminal industry and attracting violent gangs with ties to Mexican drug cartels, authorities say.
The U.S. government has gradually tightened its grip on the porous Mexican border in response to heightened concerns over homeland security -- most recently ordering 6,000 National Guard troops to the border in May.
Police and prosecutors in Arizona, where around half of the almost 1.2 million illegal immigrants caught crossing from Mexico last year were nabbed, say the success has transformed a trade once dominated by "mom and pop" outfits into an industry taking in up to $2.5 billion a year.
"What we are seeing here is the birth of a new organized criminal activity," said Cameron Holmes, the chief of financial remedies at the Arizona Attorney General's office.
"We have seen smuggling here for years, but because of increased enforcement at the border it has grown exponentially," he added.
The transformation began in the 1990s and gathered pace following the September 11, 2001 attacks, after which security along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border was stepped up.
Arizona state police say there are now up to 10 major networks hauling thousands of undocumented immigrants a day to the sprawling capital Phoenix, where they are held in as many as 1,200 motels and drop houses until relatives stump up fees of $1,600-$1,800.
Each network has scores of collaborators including desert guides, short- and long-range drivers, drop house cooks and guards, and runners who collect millions of dollars in proceeds each day from wire transfer firms across the city.
"They are no different to a serious drug cartel ... in terms of their organization and their desire to get this job done," said Terri Tollefson, acting deputy special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Phoenix.
SHOOT-OUTS ON THE FREEWAY
ICE says some of the smugglers involved in the networks come from Sinaloa state in western Mexico -- which is notorious for drug trafficking -- and use techniques and infrastructure honed from running narcotics over the border.
The huge cash profits from the trade also attract armed raiders dubbed "bajadores" who frequently ambush rivals as they transport their human cargo across the state, sometimes having shoot-outs with pistols and assault rifles on busy freeways.
"It's like drug groups ripping other drug groups off for their dope loads," said Tim Mason, a detective with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
"We are seeing more of these individuals trying to steal humans and turn them around for a profit," he added.
Police say the trade was always dangerous for immigrants, but is now becoming even more risky.
Gangs frequently tie up their charges and beat them to extract more money, and have begun warehousing them in desert staging areas where temperatures soar to above 120 degrees Fahrenheit to maximize profits.
With border security on an upward curve, investigators say they expect the vigorous cross-border trade to only become more consolidated, and more violent, in the months ahead.
"They are just getting started," Holmes said. "The ultimate draw is the job market. Until that is corrected, the phenomenon will continue to accelerate."
The U.S. government has gradually tightened its grip on the porous Mexican border in response to heightened concerns over homeland security -- most recently ordering 6,000 National Guard troops to the border in May.
Police and prosecutors in Arizona, where around half of the almost 1.2 million illegal immigrants caught crossing from Mexico last year were nabbed, say the success has transformed a trade once dominated by "mom and pop" outfits into an industry taking in up to $2.5 billion a year.
"What we are seeing here is the birth of a new organized criminal activity," said Cameron Holmes, the chief of financial remedies at the Arizona Attorney General's office.
"We have seen smuggling here for years, but because of increased enforcement at the border it has grown exponentially," he added.
The transformation began in the 1990s and gathered pace following the September 11, 2001 attacks, after which security along the 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border was stepped up.
Arizona state police say there are now up to 10 major networks hauling thousands of undocumented immigrants a day to the sprawling capital Phoenix, where they are held in as many as 1,200 motels and drop houses until relatives stump up fees of $1,600-$1,800.
Each network has scores of collaborators including desert guides, short- and long-range drivers, drop house cooks and guards, and runners who collect millions of dollars in proceeds each day from wire transfer firms across the city.
"They are no different to a serious drug cartel ... in terms of their organization and their desire to get this job done," said Terri Tollefson, acting deputy special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Phoenix.
SHOOT-OUTS ON THE FREEWAY
ICE says some of the smugglers involved in the networks come from Sinaloa state in western Mexico -- which is notorious for drug trafficking -- and use techniques and infrastructure honed from running narcotics over the border.
The huge cash profits from the trade also attract armed raiders dubbed "bajadores" who frequently ambush rivals as they transport their human cargo across the state, sometimes having shoot-outs with pistols and assault rifles on busy freeways.
"It's like drug groups ripping other drug groups off for their dope loads," said Tim Mason, a detective with the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
"We are seeing more of these individuals trying to steal humans and turn them around for a profit," he added.
Police say the trade was always dangerous for immigrants, but is now becoming even more risky.
Gangs frequently tie up their charges and beat them to extract more money, and have begun warehousing them in desert staging areas where temperatures soar to above 120 degrees Fahrenheit to maximize profits.
With border security on an upward curve, investigators say they expect the vigorous cross-border trade to only become more consolidated, and more violent, in the months ahead.
"They are just getting started," Holmes said. "The ultimate draw is the job market. Until that is corrected, the phenomenon will continue to accelerate."
Comments
i bet a team of snipers spread out over the border could end illegal crossings in about a week
or a group of prarie dog shooters.
Lemme see here, 1.2 million a year, and it's been like that since 9/11/01, and there's three other states that sit on that same border,
but they only account (according to Reuters)for 200,000 of the illegals each; where did this reporter interview sources for this drivel-Romania?!
I say intimidate the swarming hordes with a coupla demonstrations of the MOAB. Nothing out there to harm, environmentally.
120 deg heat, shootouts on the freeway for human cargo, beatings for
more money. Bet a big scream comes up to lighten up on the poor
illegals. If I were the President of Mexico, I'd be ashamed that my
citizens would rather run to another country than stay in their own.
This isn't saying much about how the government is run in Mexico.