American government officials believe that criminal organizations in Mexico are turning to human trafficking to make a quick but substantial buck. Officials believe that smugglers have set up networks of express buses that can quickly deliver migrants from Central America to the American border.
Migrants can be transported from southern Mexico to drop-off points near the American border in just 72 hours. From there, many of the migrants cross into the United States on foot, surrendering to border patrol, and then filing asylum claims. Tickets on the express buses for one adult and one child can cost as much as $7,000.
Officials believe that the new system is safer for migrants. Previously, migrants were often kept in stash houses under armed guard. The migrants would then be smuggled across the border. The new system eliminates many of the hassles.
The “conveyor belt” appears to have rapidly increased the number of migrant families entering the United States. Roughly 40,000 people arrived at the border in February. This was up 67 percent from January. Increasingly, migrants are arriving in large groups, even overwhelming border patrol agents.
Undocumented border crossings have surged and authorities believe that roughly one million unauthorized people will cross the border in 2019. Border arrests are also spiking. Arrests peaked at 1.6 million back in 2000 before gradually declining to just 303,000 in 2017. However, arrests are once again on the rise.
Before the conveyor belt system, migrants often spent several weeks trekking across Mexico. Now, they can reach the United States in a single week or less.
This is making it easier for families to travel with young children. Since the migrants are traveling with children, they are often processed and released from holding centers in a matter of days. The Trump administration has been pressuring Mexico to shut the conveyor belt down, to no avail.
