E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
Smuggling & Trafficking

Smuggling & Trafficking

_Trafficking

Smugglers and traffickers—of human beings as well as illicit drugs and other contraband—are among the “bad actors” who facilitate and profit from illegality. As governments around the world make increasing investments in immigration controls, there is a growing demand for ever more sophisticated and creative means to circumvent border controls. The research here focuses on the roles played by trafficking and smuggling organizations, the repercusssions of their activities, and the exploitation and abuse of individual migrants and trafficked persons.

Recent Activity

EVENT PHOTO 2017.8.31 flickr cesar bojorquez Un dia sin migrantes (Tijuana B.C. Mexico)
Multimedia
August 31, 2017
La Situación de Cambio Constante entre EE UU y México: Tendencias y Políticas de Migración, Incluyendo Menores No Acompañados
TrainSerbia MirjanaNedeva UNWomenEuropeCentralAsia
Articles
August 17, 2017
Outsourcing Migration Management: The Role of the Western Balkans in the European Refugee Crisis
By Alice Greider
_TunisiaCamp
Commentaries
February 2017
New EU Partnerships in North Africa: Potential to Backfire?
By  Elizabeth Collett
EVENT PH 2016.1.27 US NAVY Distressed_persons_are_transferred_to_a_Maltese_patrol_vessel.
Multimedia
January 27, 2017
European Union Third-Country Partnerships: Where Do We Go From Here?
coverthumb tcmdevhansen
Reports
January 2017
Constrained by its Roots: How the Origins of the Global Asylum System Limit Contemporary Protection
By  Randall Hansen
SyrianRefugees JoshZakary Flickr
Articles
December 12, 2016
Crises with Links to Immigration Result in Divergent Policy Responses on Either Side of the Atlantic
By Aliyyah Ahad and Liz Heimann
OntheRoad MathiasDepardon UNHCR
Articles
December 8, 2016
Migrants and Smugglers Get Creative to Circumvent Immigration Enforcement
By Caitlin Katsiaficas and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Event PH 2016.10.27 Kate Hooper and Kathleen Newland
Multimedia
October 27, 2016
Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors

Pages

Feature
July 1, 2005
Trafficking in Women from Nigeria to Europe

In search of a better life, thousands of Nigerian women have signed emigration "pacts" with smugglers before going to Europe, where they are coerced into prostitution. Jørgen Carling of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo explains.

Feature
March 1, 2005
Trafficking, Smuggling, and Human Rights

Jacqueline Bhabha of Harvard University untangles the difference between trafficking and smuggling and explains how human rights protections vary for migrants who are trafficked versus those who are smuggled.

Feature
July 1, 2004
Reining in Child Trafficking in the New EU
Lisa Kurbiel of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations takes an in-depth look at new initiatives to stop child trafficking in the European Union.
Feature
November 1, 2003
Australia Unveils Initiative to Stop Human Trafficking
Christine Inglis examines the Australian government's new four-year, $20 million initiative to fight human trafficking, particularly of women.
Feature
August 1, 2003
Security at U.S. Borders: A Move Away from Unilateralism?
MPI Policy Analyst Deborah Waller Meyers examines the Smart Border agreements signed by the U.S. with Canada and Mexico in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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Recent Activity

Audio
August 31, 2017

La Situación de Cambio Constante entre EE UU y México: Tendencias y Políticas de Migración, Incluyendo Menores No Acompañados

Durante este seminario, ponentes presentaron hallazgos de un reciente informe que utiliza datos de agencias gubernamentales mexicanas, entrevistas con funcionarios clave y relatos de la sociedad civil para examinar el marco legal para la protección de menores no acompañados y su aplicación, al igual que las brechas entre este marco y su aplicación durante los procesos de detención, interrogación y alojamiento. El presidente de MPI, Andrew Selee, también expuso cómo el cambio en la dinámica política en Estados Unidos puede afectar las cuestiones migratorias con México, así como los efectos en la relación bilateral en medio de tensiones sobre el muro fronterizo, la renegociación del acuerdo del TLCAN y una cifra significativa de repatriaciones de migrantes mexicanos.

Articles
August 17, 2017

Outsourcing Migration Management: The Role of the Western Balkans in the European Refugee Crisis

Hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers reached Europe via the Western Balkans route during the peak of the migration crisis. While Balkan countries initially facilitated movements northward, pressure from the European Union led to cascading border controls, which left thousands stranded in the region. This article examines the role of Balkan countries during the thick of the crisis and subsequent regional impacts.

Commentaries
February 2017

New EU Partnerships in North Africa: Potential to Backfire?

Eager to emulate the success of an EU-Turkey deal that has helped sharply reduce crossings into Greece, the European Union is exploring similar partnerships with transit countries along the North African coastline. But as this commentary explores, these prospective deals with Libya and other governments may be built upon unstable foundations and come with inherent complexities, possible risks for North African partners, and moral and other hazards for the European Union.

Audio
January 27, 2017

European Union Third-Country Partnerships: Where Do We Go From Here?

In the year since the Valletta Summit, the European Union and Member State governments have ramped up cooperation with origin, transit, and hosting countries, yet questions remain over how effective these partnerships have been and how far they can be reasonably be pursued. This webinar is a discussion on longer-term interventions the European Union may pursue to find solutions for asylum seekers, including cooperation with other countries on migration management.  

Reports
January 2017

Constrained by its Roots: How the Origins of the Global Asylum System Limit Contemporary Protection

While territorial asylum—the principle that a refugee must reach the territory of a host country in order to lodge a protection claim—has become the dominant response to refugee outflows, it does not provide an easy solution for sudden influxes. Amid record global displacement, this report considers whether there are viable alternatives to territorial asylum, and explores how they might be implemented.

Articles
December 12, 2016

Crises with Links to Immigration Result in Divergent Policy Responses on Either Side of the Atlantic

While Europe and the United States saw terror attacks in 2016 carried out by radicalized immigrants or members of the second generation, policy responses varied on either side of the Atlantic. The perceived security threat posed by refugees was the main concern in the United States. Meanwhile, European debates centered more on concerns over loss of control of migration flows and lack of social cohesion.

Articles
December 8, 2016

Migrants and Smugglers Get Creative to Circumvent Immigration Enforcement

Smugglers and migrants adapted their paths in light of changing conditions in 2016, including the construction of walls and closure of borders. Cuban and Haitian migrants increasingly chose to make their way to the United States through South and Central America rather than by sea. Meanwhile, migrant flows to Europe have splintered into a wider range of routes, seeking new openings through the Western Balkans.

Video, Audio
October 27, 2016

Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors

Marking the release of All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration, this book discussion explores the different facets of maritime migration and the challenges governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations face in tackling this issue together. Presenters discuss the overwhelming Mediterranean crisis and movements across the Bay of Bengal/Andaman Sea, the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, in the Caribbean, and the waters around Australia; and the particular challenges for policymakers in each of these cases.

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