Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Cubasol
Barceló Solymar
AVA Resorts
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Herbalife
Intecap
INOR
Realidad Turística
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Walmart
Nestle
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Agexport
blackanddecker
Los Portales
INTERFER
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Tigo

Number of Migrants Crossing Border Is Dropping, In Part Due to U.S. Agents Helping Nab Human Smugglers in Central America

Date:

Share:

Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Nestle
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
INOR
AVA Resorts
Los Portales
Intecap
INTERFER
blackanddecker
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Realidad Turística
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Herbalife

CBP and ICE agents helped catch 240 “coyotes” in a single June week, according to DHS briefing materials prepared for the White House.

Arrests of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. southern border have fallen by nearly 14 percent from an all-time high in May, driven in part by an increase in U.S.-assisted arrests of smugglers in Central America, far from U.S. soil, according to internal briefing materials obtained by NBC News.

Agents from Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, some of them in Central American countries, were responsible for the arrests of an average of 240 smugglers in a single week in June, according to the materials, prepared by the Department of Homeland Security for a White House briefing.

Agents working outside the U.S. provide intelligence to local law enforcement on smugglers to target for arrests, according to the document.

More than 1,300 DHS personnel are focused on targeting smugglers, and the agency has spent more than $50 million on the effort since April, a DHS spokesperson said.

The number of smuggler arrests in Central and Latin American countries increased in June, and the number of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border began to fall from May’s high of more than 7,700 daily apprehensions.

By the end of June, the numbers had fallen by 14 percent, and they have stayed relatively stagnant. In the first two weeks of July, the average number of undocumented migrants being stopped at the southern land border every day was 6,800, according to preliminary figures shared internally at CBP and obtained by NBC News.

Seasonal trends are also responsible for the drop, as in most years fewer migrants make the journey during the hot summer months. But monthly numbers actually rose in the summers of 2018, 2020 and 2021. And while the early months of 2022 had record levels of border traffic, crossings this July are on pace to fall below those of the same month last year.

Human smugglers, also known as coyotes, are often connected to drug cartels and charge migrants thousands of dollars to be transported to the U.S. on dangerous journeys on which some are kidnapped, assaulted or left for dead. Smuggler networks are so widespread throughout the region that it is extremely rare for an undocumented migrant to cross the U.S. southern border on foot without the help of a smuggler.

In the briefing materials, DHS estimated that for each smuggler stopped, 24 migrants were either stopped or slowed from crossing the border. DHS credited the smuggler arrests with stopping as many as 1,329 migrants a day.

The Biden administration has boasted of its increased partnership and coordination with governments and law enforcement agencies in Mexico, as well as Central and South America. But the scale of the role U.S. immigration agents play in the arrests of smugglers outside the U.S. has remained largely covert.

The briefing materials reveal that during one week in late June, CBP agents were responsible for the arrests of 166 smugglers and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations agents were responsible for 74 arrests outside the U.S. The agents also helped discover stash houses and trailers carrying migrants in Central America.

Sergio Gonzales, the executive director of The Immigration Hub, which advocates for progressive immigration policies, said U.S. voters largely support the arrests of human smugglers, but he cautioned that the Biden administration needs to do more to open safe, legal pathways for asylum-seekers.

“These are really bad actors that prey on people in really desperate and difficult situations,” Gonzales said of human smugglers. “But you can’t just take away pathways for people to seek safety.”

Gonzales also said the details of how ICE and CBP are working in the region matter because of the “problematic history of U.S. law enforcement in Latin America that has caused major problems in the region.”

The level of involvement by U.S. immigration agents with law enforcement agents physically making the arrests is unclear, but the briefing materials suggest U.S. agents keep a tally of exactly which arrests they help facilitate.

“Further strengthening our security partnerships throughout the hemisphere is a priority for DHS as we escalate our law enforcement operations against the smugglers and traffickers who prey on the vulnerable,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Fluctuations are normal, but we will continue to strengthen our border security, support our partners, and combat transnational crime and human smuggling vigorously.”

In a statement, a White House official said, “President Biden is taking historic action to disrupt the criminal smuggling networks that are profiting off of migrants, and he brought 20 world leaders together for the first time to do it with him. In just the last two weeks, these efforts resulted in 706 smuggler arrests, and helped prevent up to 1,900 migrants a day from falling prey to dangerous smugglers.” (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/number-migrants-crossing-border-dropping-part-due-us-agents-helping-na-rcna40528)

CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
INOR
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Intecap
INTERFER
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Cubasol
Los Portales
Walmart
Realidad Turística
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Tigo
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Barceló Solymar
AVA Resorts
Nestle
blackanddecker
Herbalife
Agexport
Barcelo Guatemala City
AirEuropa
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Blue Diamond Resorts
Cubacel
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
INTERFER
Intecap
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Tigo
Havanatur
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Henkel Latinoamerica

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

Pole Dancing in Israel: A New Dimension with BlueDance.co.il

In recent years, pole dancing has experienced a remarkable transformation, shifting from a misunderstood niche to a popular activity combining fitness, self-expression, and empowerment....

A New Luxury Hotel Just Opened on An Idyllic Beach in Cancun, Mexico — And We Were the First to Stay

Waldorf Astoria Cancun opened to the public on Nov. 1, the brand's first new build in Mexico, with two waterfront pools and a fantastic...

Pan American Health Organization Launches Interactive Dashboard on Avian Influenza in The Americas

To monitor cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an interactive dashboard on the web...

Nicaragua Presents Its New Interoceanic Canal Route to China and Seeks to Compete with Panama

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes With a length of 445 kilometers, in a second attempt, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, presents China with a new...

This North East African Country Welcomes Over 15.7 Million Tourists Last Year and An Addition 40,000 New Hotel Rooms are in Pipeline

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes In a year marked by global uncertainties and regional geopolitical challenges, Egypt’s tourism sector achieved an impressive milestone, welcoming a...
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Barcelo Guatemala City
INTERFER
Havanatur
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Cubacel
Henkel Latinoamerica
Intecap
AirEuropa
Blue Diamond Resorts

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Cubasol
Barceló Solymar
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Walmart
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Nestle
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
INOR
AVA Resorts
Herbalife
Los Portales
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Tigo
Realidad Turística
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
blackanddecker
Intecap
INTERFER
Agexport