Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

Several criticisms may apply to the quality of grey literature, including
lack of critical scrutiny, systematic research methodology and peer reviews (see
Carling in this volume, for a nuanced discussion). While some grey publications
on irregular migration is of high quality and peer reviewed (such as Government
of Australia’s irregular migration research programme publications), many suffer
from these caveats. Despite enormous variations among grey literature, they are
largely qualitative and draw on secondary sources.
Academic literature
There has been limited academic research on irregular migration in South
Asia, let alone on migrant smuggling. However, in recent years, the academic
literature on irregular migration is burgeoning, offering rich insights into various
aspects of irregular migration and, to some extent, on migrant smuggling. Several
studies have analysed trends and volume of irregular migration and drivers of
such migration in India (Rajan, 2014; Saha, 2012), Bangladesh (Rahman and
Kabir, 2012), Afghanistan and Sri Lanka (Ganguly-Scrase and Sheridan, 2012),
and Pakistan and Bangladesh (Kassim and Zin, 2011). While Rajan (2014)
investigates migration in general, the study presents a section with statistics
of irregular migration from India to Europe drawn from Eurostat. Analysing
cases of 1,173 irregular migrants recorded at the international airport in Delhi,
Saha (2012) investigates trends and volumes of irregular migration, as well as
migrants’ demographic profile, exploring reasons for irregular migration. Based
on interviews with internally displaced people in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka,
Ganguly-Scrase and Sheridan (2012) explore migrants’ differing perspectives for
the internal displacement and the factors shaping their decisions for seeking
asylum.
The process involved in irregular migration, migration routes, the role
of migrant smugglers and their profiles have also been studied (İçli, Sever and
Sever, 2015; Koser, 2011; Leman and Janssens, 2012; Rahman and Kabir, 2012;
Saha, 2012). Drawing on empirical research in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Koser
(2008) “follows the money” for 50 migrants smuggled to the United Kingdom to
illuminate the financing of smuggling – how smuggling operates in terms of costs
of irregular migration, and terms of payments and distribution of smuggling fees
among different layers of smugglers and their supporters. It shows the evidence
of a “money-back guarantee” on smuggling, which is an arrangement making
payment to a third party, who then releases the payment to the smuggler only
after migrants arrive in their destination. İçli et al. (2015) provide in-depth
insights into understanding profile and perspectives of migrant smugglers and
the operation of migrant smuggling by interviewing 174 smugglers and 262 illegal
migrants found in Istanbul from 2007 to 2013. Similarly, Leman and Janssens
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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