Happy days are here again for the human smuggling industry. So far this year, those smugglers, aka coyotes, are making a mint down Mexico way. Official DHS estimates credit them with pulling down $400 million just in February: “a number which”–according to one top Republican–“has certainly grown proportionally as the number of migrants encountered at the border skyrocketed in March.”
That Republican lawmaker–Rep. John Katko (R-NY)–sent a letter this week to DHS Sec’y Mayorkas, requesting a briefing on the efforts his department may or may not be taking to deal with the smugglers’ use of social media, including Facebook, to advertise their services around the world.
Katko cited as his source an April 5 NBC News report, “Human smugglers use Facebook to connect with migrants and spread false hope of reaching U.S.,” which uncovered numerous instances of brazen ads directed at would-be asylum seekers in Latin America and beyond. The ads were found on public Facebook pages with names like “Migrants from Various Countries in Mexico” and “Migrants in the Mexico-U.S.A. Border Awaiting Hearing.” One such ad, in Spanish, read:
Travel to Mexico to the United States. Costs $8,000. 100 percent safe. Cross through Matamoros. You walk one hour, after in automobile until you arrive to your relative.
Facebook claims its policies prohibit “human exploitation and trafficking” and that it “removes such content when it is identified or flagged.” Those pages identified by NBC News have been taken down, but more appear every day.
Not all coyotes offer only hazardous, overland transportation to America. One ad showed a photo of a family sitting in an aircraft, apparently en route to their new home in style and comfort. “Make your dream a reality in the United States,” the text read. “We are here to help you. The journey is safe and reliable and the price is $4,500 leaving from Monterrey to San Antonio, Texas.”
Last month, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over his company’s promotion of human trafficking, saying:
I’m talking about coyotes who are using your platform to spread this kind of information, to assist in this illegal activity that is resulting in horrible conditions for these people who are trying to come across the border.
Zuckerberg replied that Facebook was “actively working on finding ways to prevent smugglers from hawking their services through the network.”
It’s funny, but Zuck seems to have no trouble canceling and banning spokesmen for the other side, such as former President Trump.
For more, see the Daily Mail website.