Friday, 20 May 2011 11:33
Routes to the US: Mapping Human Smuggling Networks
http://insightcrime.org/insight-latest- ... -to-the-us
Increasing numbers of people from Asia and Africa are seeking to enter the U.S. illegally over the Mexican border. Analysts have started to map the routes these migrants take, in journeys which are often controlled by criminal groups.

As Mexico’s El Universal reported, in 2010 the country’s National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migracion - INM) detained almost 70,000 migrants. The vast majority of these, more than 67,000, were from the Americas.

However, a significant number were from Asian and African countries -- some 2,300. The biggest source countries in this region were India, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Although these intercontinental migration patterns have existed for years, testimony from immigrant rights NGOs suggests that the trend is becoming increasingly common, according to the report.

In a journey that can take years, these individuals use a combination of shipping routes, flights and various methods of ground travel across several continents to reach gateway countries in Central or South America. From there, they make their way to the U.S. through complex networks, called “pipelines,â€