Critical Perspectives on Clandestine Migration Facilitation: An Overview of Migrant Smuggling Research

This paper looks at the scant body of research that has been done on clandestine migrant facilitators. The media frequently portray smugglers as dangerous opportunists and, while the author acknowledges violence perpetrated against migrants, migrant facilitators depend on referrals for continued business. Few smuggling facilitators are members of wealthy transnational criminal networks. Once costs associated with the journey are paid, the earnings of individual facilitators vary greatly depending on the task performed and the number of facilitators splitting the profits. For most, it is not a living, but an income supplement. At its root, clandestine migration is produced by the restrictions states impose on the mobility of migrants and asylum seekers. With the strengthening of immigration controls, reliable, experienced facilitators are being forced out of the market, and are being replaced by less experienced facilitators, increasing the risks to migrants. Border enforcement has raised smuggling costs, and forced migrants and asylum seekers to use more remote and dangerous routes, where they are more vulnerable to environmental exposure and are more likely to be victimized by crime. Anti-smuggling activity does not punish the transnational criminal networks that are popularly thought to be behind human smuggling, but rather it has made migrants and asylum seekers more vulnerable. More empirical research may inform policies that will ultimately lead to improved safety for migrants and asylum seekers. (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Associates)

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