Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

Overview of migrant smuggling in the region
Australia, Europe and the United States are important destinations for
migrant smugglers in South Asia (Asia Foundation, 2013; Saha, 2012; Shelley,
2014). Evidence also shows that Asia and the South Asian region itself host a
significant proportion of smuggled irregular migrants, albeit largely unrecorded
(Kumar, 2012; Reddy, 2012). The region is both a destination and source region
for smuggled migrants. As UNODC (2015) highlights, migrant smugglers support
the vast majority of the smuggled migrants from the planning phase to phases
involving seeking work and asylum or further migration. While there remains a
paucity of information, a review of the available data and research on India, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal provides important insights into migrants’
flows and their demographics, smuggling routes and profiles of smugglers, as
well as costs and exploitation associated with migrant smuggling.
Migrant smuggling: Mapping migrants, routes and smugglers
Migrant smuggling to Europe and the United States
The routes for irregular migration to Europe and the United States are
varied (see Figure 8.1 for major routes). Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and
Pakistani irregular migrants are smuggled overland and by air to Europe and the
United States. The smuggling to Europe occurs via Central Asia and the Russian
Federation; the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Greece through the Western
Balkans and occasionally via West Africa (European Commission, Directorate
General for Migration and Home Affairs, 2015; Saha, 2012; Triandafyllidou
and Maroukis, 2012; UNODC, 2015; Yousef, 2013). Other lesser-used pathways
occur through the Gulf countries, where migrants reach through regular
processes (Raghavan and Jayasuriya, 2016a, 2016b; Saha, 2012; Yousef, 2013).
Recent studies show that some Sri Lankans pass through India first, regularly or
irregularly, prior to flying to Europe (Raghavan and Jayasuriya, 2016a, 2016b).
Most of the cases of illegal entry into United States via land route had
been via Mexico or Canada (Saha, 2012). More recently, anecdotal evidence
suggests that increasingly Indian and Nepali migrants are smuggled to the United
States (Irfan, 2012; Wells, 2013). Guatemala and Ecuador both introduced visa
waiver schemes to Indian nationals in recent years, which were then used as
intermediary countries to enter the United States (Irfan, 2012; Saha, 2012). Most
of the migrants smuggled to Europe and the United States are asylum seekers
who apply for refugee status. They are mostly educated and belong to better-off
families, with the exception of some war or ethnic victims (Saha, 2012).
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8. South Asia