Secondary Actors: the role of smugglers in mixed migration through the Americas

By Ximena Canal Laiton

This paper explores the use of smugglers by Latin American and Caribbean migrants on their journeys to North America. It is based on responses to more than 3,000 4Mi surveys conducted in Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico in 2022 and 2023 and includes findings on profiles of migrants who hired smugglers as well as information on the services they sought and their general perceptions of smugglers. As such, this paper provides a wealth of solid empirical evidence with a view to informing the work of policymakers and humanitarian actors.

  Key findings • Smuggler use is far from the norm: two out of every five survey respondents hired smugglers during their migration journey. • The demand for smuggling services in Latin America andtheCaribbeanisdrivenbygeographicandpolitical barriers to mobility between countries, including the lack of safe and regular pathways to migrate and the absence of formal services and infrastructure (such as transportation and accommodation) along the migratory routes. • Respondents surveyed in 2022 and 2023 reported using smugglers at rates of 49% and 34% respectively. This decline could be the consequence of an increase in the overall number of people on the move in the region, the greater use and sharing of maps by people on the move, and the reopening of the border between Colombia and Venezuela. • A fifth of respondents (20%) who used smugglers identified them as potential perpetrators of abuse that may occur in the most dangerous locations on their migration journey. • Just 6% of respondents said they saw smugglers as a potential source of protection during their migration journey. • Respondents who reported using smugglers mostly identified them as service providers who helped them to cross borders irregularly and to travel within transit countries. More than half said smugglers had helped them achieve their migration goals. • Despite marketing their services widely on social networks, smugglers  

Geneva, SWIT: Mixed Migration Centre, 2024. 14p.