Homeland Security Combats Human Trafficking
December 17, 2004
by Jim Kouri
The first phase of a high-visibility operation to deter human smuggling activity in the Los Angeles area is underway, according to a Department of Homeland Security report submitted to the 14,000-member National Association of Chiefs of Police. The initial focus of the multi-agency enforcement effort is Los Angeles International Airport, a key West Coast transportation hub used increasingly by criminal organizations to move smuggled migrants to destinations across the country.
Beginning this past July, teams made up of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigators, uniformed agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol, and CBP inspectors are operating in high-profile positions at locations throughout the airport. The enforcement teams have three goals: to curb human smuggling activity at the facility; to interdict and arrest suspected smugglers; and to gather additional intelligence about smuggling methods.
While uniformed Border Patrol agents have been used successfully to deter human smuggling at other airports in the Southwest, including Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, this marks the first time they have been deployed to LAX for this purpose. Throughout the operation, ICE and Border Patrol will work closely with the other Homeland Security agencies that maintain a presence at LAX, including CBP inspections and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
"Human smuggling is a violent criminal enterprise that puts the safety of our communities and even our country at risk," DHS Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson said in a statement made to the National Association of Chiefs of Police. "Attacking this problem is a top Homeland Security priority. We are committed to using the wealth of resources and expertise at our disposal not only to disrupt the current activity, but to identify and dismantle the criminal organizations behind it."
The LAX operation is an outgrowth of the Arizona Border Control Initiative, an ongoing Homeland Security enforcement operation to stem cross-border smuggling activity and the accompanying crime and violence in neighboring Arizona. As a result of the crackdown, which began earlier this year, many criminal smuggling organizations are shifting their activities to the Los Angeles area where they hold the undocumented migrants while arranging for transportation to destinations nationwide.
Earlier this year, ICE agents arrested several groups of smuggled migrants at LAX who were destined for cities throughout the United States. Additionally, other large groups of smuggled aliens were apprehended at airports on the East Coast after arriving on flights originating at LAX. In an incident April 8, CBP officers in Newark intercepted 88 illegal immigrants from among 222 passengers on board a Continental Airlines flight inbound from Los Angeles.
The presence of ICE and Border Patrol agents at LAX is not expected to disrupt airport operations or cause delays for legitimate travelers. As a further assurance, ICE and CBP officials met this morning with representatives from local community-based organizations to outline details of the operation and address possible concerns. DHS plans to monitor the initiative closely to determine its impact on smuggling activity not only at LAX, but on other area airports and transportation hubs.
Cutting off access to LAX is expected to increase smugglers' reliance on so-called "drop houses" where they attempt to conceal their human cargo. As the level of activity in the "drop houses" escalates, it works to law enforcement's advantage because it makes smugglers' operations more conspicuous.
The high-profile presence of ICE and CBP agents at LAX is just one facet of the ongoing effort to combat human smuggling in the Los Angeles area and nationwide. ICE agents, working closely with their counterparts in Homeland Security, are using an array of immigration, smuggling, and financial investigative powers to attack the criminal rings involved. ICE's financial investigations expertise, for example, is enabling federal authorities to track and target the monetary assets of criminal organizations in ways not previously possible, which is crucial to disabling their operations. The Department of Homeland Security will coordinate closely with the United States Attorney's Office to prosecute the violent criminals involved with human smuggling, according to the legal department at DHS.
Jim Kouri
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores.
