The Mexico Institute was pleased to host this discussion on the relationship between Mexico’s growing criminal organizations and Human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexican border. The event, titled “Human Smuggling and Organized Crime in Mexico: Three Case Studies”, featured Dr. Rodolfo Casillas,  FLACSO-Mexico; Dr. Gabriella Sanchez, START-University of Maryland; and Dr. Sheldon Zhang, Sociology Department, San Diego State University

The Mexico Institute was pleased to hear from these experts, who have undertaken extensive field research on the topic and who provided a nuanced and detailed assessment of the phenomenon of human smuggling and organized crime.

The scholars discussed how some organized crime groups in Mexico have diversified their criminal activities and how there is a growing assumption that they have become deeply involved in human smuggling.  The growing presence of undocumented immigrants from other countries along the U.S. Mexican border raises questions about the reach of human smuggling groups in the region. The incident involving the tragic death of 72 migrants in San Fernando, Mexico in 2010 was a tragic case in point.