Thread: Alien smuggling poses a threat to the nation's security

Alien smuggling poses a threat to the nation's security

Human Trafficking Generates Billions in Profits; Obama Ignores This Crime

By Jim Kouri
Friday, September 4, 2009

Creation of the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003 has provided an opportunity to use financial investigative techniques to combat alien smugglers by targeting and seizing their monetary assets.

For instance, the composition of DHS’s largest investigative component — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement — includes the legacy Customs Service, which has extensive experience with money laundering and other financial crimes. Another DHS component, US Customs and Border Protection has primary responsibility for interdictions between ports of entry.

In summer 2003, ICE announced that it was developing a national strategy for combating alien smuggling. Among other objectives, the General Accountability Office determined the implementation status of the strategy and investigative results in terms of convictions and seized assets.

According to reports, ICE had not finalized its strategy for combating alien smuggling. ICE was adjusting the draft strategy to focus on the southwest border and encompass all aspects of smuggling, aliens as well as drugs and other contraband. In adjusting the strategy, ICE officials stressed the importance of incorporating lessons learned from ongoing follow-the-money approaches such as Operation ICE Storm, a multi-agency task force launched in October 2003 to crack down on migrant smuggling and related violence in Arizona. Also, the strategy’s effectiveness depends partly on having clearly defined roles and responsibilities for ICE and CBP, two DHS components that have complementary anti-smuggling missions.

In this regard, ICE and CBP signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2004 to address their respective roles and responsibilities, including provisions for sharing information and intelligence.

Currently, however, there is no mechanism in place for tracking the number and the results of referrals made by CBP to ICE for investigation. CBP and ICE officials acknowledged that establishing a tracking mechanism could have benefits for both DHS components. Such a mechanism would help ICE ensure that appropriate action is taken on the referrals. Also, CBP could continue to pursue certain leads if ICE — for lack of available resources or other reasons — cannot take action on the referrals.

In fiscal year 2004, about 2,400 criminal defendants were convicted in federal district courts under the primary alien-smuggling statute, and ICE reported seizures totaling $7.3 million from its alien-smuggling investigations.

For the first 6 months of fiscal year 2005, ICE reported $7.8 million in seizures from alien-smuggling investigations. A concern raised by ICE and the Department of Justice is the lack of adequate statutory civil forfeiture authority for seizing real property, such as “stashâ€

Why don't you raise this during the Homeland Security Quadrennial review?