How do organized crime groups exploit migrants?

https://doi.org/10.63189/ZHIO5949

Migrants are commonly treated in criminology as a social group exposed to special risks of victimization, which may be due to ignorance of the social and legal realities of their destination, difficult living situation, desire to improve material status, while the risks themselves increase when migration is of an illegal nature. In this post, we will try to answer questions about the main threats to migrants from organized crime groups.

Europol's objectives prioritize the fight against organized crime in relation to migration problems. The aims are to identify and disrupt high-risk criminal networks active in the EU, such as mafia-type, ethnic and family-based organisations and other structured networks, and individuals with critical roles in these networks and to disrupt criminal networks engaged in trafficking in human beings for all forms of exploitation, including labour and sexual exploitation, and with a special focus on those who exploit minors for forced criminality; those who use or threaten with violence against victims and their families, or mislead victims by simulating to officialise the exploitation; those who recruit and advertise victims online, and are serviced by brokers providing digital services[1]. Also, it is focused on fight against criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling, in particular those providing facilitation services to irregular migrants along the main migratory routes crossing the external border of the EU and those involved in facilitation of secondary movements and legalisation of residence status within the EU, particularly focussing on those whose methods endanger people’s lives.

People move to other countries for many reasons, but in the case of undocumented migrants it is almost always for a better life. This may involve themselves or their families, as well as looking for work or fleeing poverty, natural disasters, violence, armed conflict or persecution. may involve seeking work or fleeing poverty, natural disasters, violence, armed conflict or persecution. Profit-seeking criminals take advantage of the lack of legal opportunities available to migrants and profit from their situation by offering high-cost illegal migrant smuggling services. These can include services such as transportation, but can also include extorting documents. This can include borrowing stolen passports with photos resembling migrants, falsifying travel or identity documents, or obtaining genuine passports or visas on the basis of false documents, passports or visas on the basis of false supporting documents.  

Migrant smuggling is defined as “the acquisition, for the purpose of obtaining, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal unlawful entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a citizen or permanent resident” (Smuggling Protocol, article 3(a)[2]). In other words, migrant smuggling is a transnational organized crime in which the perpetrator facilitates another person to cross the border illegally for profit. Those who benefit from smuggling services may be migrants, asylum seekers or others. Criminals, including foreign terrorist fighters, are known to use the services of migrant smugglers. Smuggled migrants are not “victims” of the crime of migrant smuggling, but may fall victim to other crimes during smuggling crimes, including serious crimes such as human trafficking, assault and rape[3].

Organized criminal groups are profiting from migrant smuggling. Criminals are increasingly providing smuggling services to illegal migrants to evade national border controls, migration laws and visa requirements. Most irregular migrants resort to the help of profit-seeking smugglers because as border controls improve in developed countries, migrants are discouraged from attempting illegal border crossings and end up in the hands of smugglers. Migrant smugglers are becoming increasingly organized, forming professional networks that cross borders and regions. Nevertheless, thousands of people have lost their lives as a result of the indifferent or even deliberate actions of migrant smugglers[4].

It is human trafficking that is one of the greatest threats to migrants from organized crime groups. Trafficking in human beings has many facets, and serves specific purposes assumed by organized crime groups. According to Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime[5], trafficking in persons includes, but is not limited to, the recruitment, transportation, harboring, transfer, receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force and other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, misrepresentation, abuse of power, sexual or forced labor exploitation, slavery.

One of the goals of such criminal activity is the procurement of human organs. Scrupleless criminal networks generate illicit profits from illegal organ transplants ranging from $600 million to $1.2 billion annually, while it is estimated that between 5% and 10% of transplants worldwide are carried out illegally, making human trafficking for the organ removal one of the most lucrative illegal activities[6].

Another extremely difficult problem is the exploitation of people for slavery and forced labor. Research suggests that there are links between migration and criminal forms of exploitation, such as human trafficking, forced labor and modern slavery. Certainly risk constellations in some migrant communities and migration corridors. However, it is not known how many of the approximately 40 million victims of modern slavery worldwide are also migrants. Research suggests that there are links between migration and criminal forms of exploitation such as human trafficking, forced labor and modern slavery. Certainly, constellations of risk are evident in some migrant communities and migration corridors. All relevant studies confirm that undocumented migrants are more vulnerable to modern slavery than those with documented residency. In addition, migrants whose visas are linked to a specific employer are also more vulnerable to exploitation. The impact of migrants' knowledge of migration processes is disputed. Some studies suggest that poorly informed migrants are more vulnerable to exploitation. However, other researchers argue that most migrants are already aware of the dangers of migrant exploitation, but are forced into risky situations due to circumstances beyond their control[7].

As we can see, the situations described above indicate the multiplicity of threats against migrants from organized crime groups, which often take advantage of the difficult life and property situation of those seeking a new place to live. The risk of victimization among migrants - especially illegal migrants - is very high and encompasses a very broad catalog of behaviors, as outlined in this post. Any criminological problem requires the search for solutions, which will focus primarily on issues of preventing and combating the various dimensions of crime, as this is an important part of criminal policy-making. Organized crime is extremely complex due to the number of actors, the multiplicity of connections and actors involved in criminal acts, so taking effective measures to combat it is complicated, especially in the context of migration problems and the use of migrants for criminal activities. On the other hand, understanding criminal mechanisms, as well as the goals of organized crime groups, can be a stepping stone to the search for effective policing solutions. At the same time, it is worth keeping in mind other methods of fighting crime, including an effective and well-organized information and education campaign towards people who may be interested in looking for a new place to live. The aim of such activities should be, above all, to raise awareness of the scale of the threat, especially towards those who decide to cross borders illegally.

References

[1] Council conclusions setting the EU's priorities for the fight against serious and organised crime for EMPACT 2022 – 2025, 8428/1/21 REV 1.

[2] Smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air — UN protocol, Council decisions 2006/616/EC and 2006/617/EC on the conclusion of the UN protocol against the smuggling of migrants (by land, sea and air), supplementing the UN convention against transnational organised crime.

[3] McAdam M., Understanding the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, Regional Support Office of the The Bali Process, Bangkok 2021, p. 4.

[4] Siegel L., Criminology: The Core, Cengage, Boston 2019, p. 516.

[5] Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000.

[6] Lopez-Fraga M., Van Assche K., Dominguez-Gil B., Delmonico F.L., Capron A.M., Human Trafficking for the Purpose of Organ Removal(in:) R. Piotrowicz, C. Rijken, B. Heide Uhl, Routledge Handbook of Human Trafficking, Routledge, New York 2018, p. 120.

[7] David F., Bryant K., Larsen J.J., Migrants and their Vulnerability to Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labour, International Organization for Migration, Geneva 2019, p. 8-10.