Mexican Cartels Get the Blame for Human Smuggling. But Americans Are Heavily Involved.

EL PASO, Texas — Mexican criminal organizations involved in human smuggling are increasingly relying on Americans to maintain the flow of migrants reaching the U.S. 

The trend has emerged as a consortium of high-level U.S. officials touched down in Mexico this week to discuss plans for stopping a record number of migrants from reaching the U.S. 

President Joe Biden’s government and past U.S administrations have focused the blame for human smuggling on Mexican drug cartels, while overlooking the important and growing role of U.S. citizens in the criminal economy. Enticed by soaring profits during hard economic times, U.S. citizens have proven easy recruits to ferry migrants through the last—and arguably most perilous—leg of the trip. 

“The Americans just want money. They were not interested in this business when we were charging the migrants $100, but now that we charge up to $10,000, they want in. That is ok, as long as they keep doing their part of the job,” said a 45-year-old male Mexican smuggler who spoke to VICE News on condition of anonymity.