Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

and disseminate migration-related data in light of multiple recommendations
from human rights organizations emerging from specific events involving the
mistreatment of migrants in transit. Statistics provided by the Mexican authorities,
however, suggest an increased emphasis on managing migration flows through
removal (Guevara, 2015; Knippen, Boggs and Meyer, 2015) and not necessarily
improvements to migrants’ safety. There has been an overall increase in the
number of arrests and deportations of Central American migrants in Mexico.
Data indicate that between July 2014 and June 2015, the apprehensions carried
out by the Government of Mexico along the southern border involving Central
American migrants increased 71 per cent (WOLA, 2015).
The concerns expressed by international organizations on the experiences
of migrants in transit particularly along the Mexican corridor have also lead
to an onslaught of efforts involving the collection, cataloguing and analysis of
data on irregular migration and the practices identified as associated with the
phenomenon as it occurs in Mexico. The international human rights community,
researchers, think tanks and migrant advocacy groups in the Americas have
extensively documented the incidence of violent acts against migrants in
transit – the disturbing incidence of kidnappings and extortion practices,
human trafficking and sexual exploitation among others that negatively impact
migrants’ safety (Knippen, Boggs and Meyer, 2015). The data collected through
these efforts have provided an important body of reference concerning the
experiences of migrants who travel through Mexico, and have been used as
a way to generate awareness over the perils of migrants in transit, seeking to
improve security conditions for those who transit through Mexico.
While the extensive number of reports pertaining to the experience of
migrants in transit addresses a significant gap in the collective knowledge on
irregular migration, the collected data often present limitations. For example,
reports often rely on the testimonial data collected among the most accessible
of migrants and who tend to be among the most vulnerable – those who
become in contact with the authorities as a result of their arrest, incarceration
or deportation, or who have experienced an act of violence or intimidation so
significant that agencies, advocates and researchers became involved in the
documentation of the case. Furthermore, the emphasis paid to documenting
the experiences of Central American migrants in Mexico has led to scholarship
from other regions and for the experiences of other migrants to be left outside
of analysis of irregular migration flows. Methodologically, the emphasis on
documenting violence has often excluded the experiences of those who travel
under less precarious conditions, who relied on other mechanisms to achieve
their journeys, or who travel along less explored corridors and/or routes,
preventing the ability to provide a more comprehensive picture of irregular
Migrant Smuggling Data and Research:
A global review of the emerging evidence base
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