http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/2603131.html

Today is Sunday, April 09, 2006
Originally published Sunday, April 09, 2006
Updated Sunday, April 09, 2006
Container stowaways reported easy to find
By Josh Grossberg
Daily Breeze

On Wednesday, 22 Chinese stowaways were caught trying to escape a cargo container in Seattle.

In January 2005, a crane operator at the Port of Los Angeles saw three men climbing out of a container. Investigators were called and 32 more Chinese immigrants were found inside.

In August 2004, U.S. Coast Guard and immigration officials met a 44-foot yacht as it entered the Los Angeles Harbor. Inside they found 50 Mexican immigrants.

Though not common, such incidents show that people will endure incredible hardships to enter the United States. In local ports, federal officials have beefed up their efforts to stop the practice.

Customs officials join the effort to stop human smuggling at the port, but once people are found, the matter becomes the jurisdiction of the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"We're the street cops and they're the detectives," said Aileen Suliveras, acting port director for the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

While the largest share of illegal immigrants trying to cross the land border are from Mexico, Asia is the point of origin for most local cases of illegal human smuggling through the ports.

"The majority of people we've encountered are from China," said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice. "They (agree to) pay a smuggler $30,000 to $60,000 apiece. They are coming to seek employment. Some have been coached to say they are fleeing political persecution."

Once they're caught, immigrants are offered the chance to go home voluntarily or are given an immigration hearing to determine if they can stay.

"It can take several months or years if they appeal the case," Kice said. "Some people smuggled in containers are allowed to bond out."

Like many immigrants, those sneaking into the United States are usually looking for jobs.

"Most are working-aged men seeking unskilled employment," Kice said. "I didn't think it's common to see people who have criminal histories."


The people who arrange the smuggling -- they're called snakeheads -- are often part of organized crime rings. Dealing in human trafficking, they trap the new arrivals in highly exploitative jobs, such as in brothels or sweat shops, to work off their loans.

Trying to stop the smuggling is the Human Trafficking Task Force, a venture of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department. Last year the LAPD received $500,000 to train officers to be able to spot victims.

"People who may be coming for a better way of life end up being enslaved in criminal activity, including prostitution, to work off their debt," said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Sometimes local officials work with foreign governments to bring the culprits to justice.

"We've worked with authorities overseas on follow-up investigations. We have a couple people linked to one who are incarcerated in China."

It's a dangerous way to find the American dream. It's a two- to three-week journey across the Pacific Ocean and conditions inside a container can become unpleasant very quickly. Some don't survive the trip.

"The journey is dangerous enough," Kice said. "Three people died in a shipping container in Seattle. They perished en route. They died of dehydration. And even if you survived the journey, would you want to be up there swinging on a crane? These containers were designed for cargo. These people swinging on huge cranes hit the ground pretty hard."

And even if they make it here alive, they are easy to spot, either because of the smell of waste they create or they're seen running from the cargo container by dockworkers.

"By the time they reach the West Coast, they are just reeking," Kice said. "One of the recent ones, there was effluence seeping out of the container. You're confined in that space with 30 or 40 people with nothing but coffee cans for waste."

Sometimes, to avoid detection, illegal immigrants are freed near Catalina Island, making it easier to get to the mainland without scrutiny. But that method typically fails, too.

"Catalina ferries are not required to ask for identification," said Coast Guard Lt. Stephen West. "But we can tell when someone is a little suspicious."

Thanks to increased security measures, human smuggling has slowed to a trickle since the 9-11 terrorist attacks. But as recent events show, it remains a concern for government officials, who see it not only as a security threat but also as a dangerous way for desperate foreigners to come to the United States.


"We saw a rash of these kinds of cases in 1998, 1999," Kice said. "But we're seeing less of it because there has been increased international cooperation to combat it."

Customs announced a crackdown on human smuggling a year ago, after 20 Chinese stowaways were found in a container at the Port of Los Angeles.

"Since then, there haven't been any incidents," said customs spokesman Michael Fleming, who attributed increased surveillance, patrols and soliciting the help of the port's 14 terminal operators.

While Kice feels compassion for people enduring such horrible conditions trying to get to America, she said that doesn't weaken her resolve to prevent people from using cargo containers to enter the country.

"If it succeeds," she said, "it will encourage others to take this dangerous journey."