Illegal Immigration Supply Chain
The naive and perhaps commonly-held view of human smuggling over the US-Mexico, the one you in the movies and TV, goes something like this: a wily "coyote" on the Mexican side picks up illegals, typically in a dusty beat up vehicle, shuttles them across the border under cover of darkness, and unceremoniously drops them off somewhere in the desert, alongside a road, or just any damn where he pleases inside US territory without even so much as an "Adios Muchachos!"
An AP report filed from Phoenix, Arizona suggests that human traffickers are a little more sophisticated than this, that there is a supply chain at work:
A human smuggling ring responsible for arranging transportation for thousands of illegal immigrants has been broken up with the indictments of 14 people who worked in travel agencies, officials announced Thursday. Six travel agencies were responsible moving at least 6,800 people since 2005, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said. In addition to the 14 owners or employees of the agencies who were indicted, two people who ran "drop houses" were charged. "This case underscores our increased commitment to investigate and prosecute human smuggling in Arizona," Goddard said.
Commentary
Crucial stages of the value chain would seem to be people arranging transportation (i.e. coyotes and travel agents) and people supplying accommodations perhaps in several locations. Though not mentioned, there are others who provide false identification and other documentation, followed by employment agencies to direct the illegals toward an occupation.
While there are probably other intermediate stages, the question that Attorney General's remarks raise is one of "location". That is to say, if you have limited resources -government and law enforcement agencies usually do- at what stage of the value chain do you focus your efforts? Is it at the border crossing stage, or somewhere else?
Though I lived in Arizona many years ago and visit frequently, I can't profess to know the answer. That said, I do recognize that recent efforts by many local governments to restrict illegals' access to accommodations, education, employment, driver's licenses, etc. might be understood from a value/supply chain perspective.
That is to say, these acts can be seen as an uncoordinated attempt to tackle the narrower problem of human trafficking and the broader of illegal immigration at various stages of the value chain. It is tempting to think that dropping the Acme anvil on coyotes would solve the problem, but that's ultimately wishful thinking.
Tags: 
illegal immigration | I
immigration | 
mexico | 
border | 
mexican border | 
illegal aliens |
See also: Immigration Watchdog | RightWing Champ | Gunmen kill two migrants on U.S.-Mexico border