The Human Tragedy Of Illegal Immigration: Greater Efforts Needed To Combat Smuggling And Violence

From The Heritage Foundation:

Immigration






The Human Tragedy of Illegal Immigration: Greater Efforts Needed to Combat Smuggling and Violence



by Ray Walser, Jena Baker McNeil, Jessica Zuckerman



The Heritage Foundation



June 23, 2011



Backgrounder





Over the past 10 years, traversing the U.S.–Mexico border illegally has become increasingly dangerous for would-be immigrants. Illegal immigrants face kidnapping, murder, and rape at the hands of violent drug cartels and ever more ruthless human smugglers. Hundreds of people die every year trying to cross the border into the U.S. However, illegal immigration is dangerous not only to the illegal immigrants themselves—it is costly to societies and nations as a whole. In order to fight illegal immigration and reduce the toll on human lives, the United States must take a comprehensive approach of increasing border security and improving legal immigration procedures and public diplomacy, as well as fostering reforms and greater efforts to crack down on human smuggling in Latin America.





URL: www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/06/The-Human-Tragedy-of-Illegal-Immigration-Greater-Efforts-Needed-to-Combat-Smuggling-and-Violence