The Republican National Committee recently took to social media to claim that Mexican cartels make approximately $13 billion a year from smuggling immigrants illegally over the border.
"Homeland Security Investigations estimates that Mexican cartels are now making $13 billion a year smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S. – a massive increase from before Biden took office," the RNC wrote July 29 on X, formerly Twitter.
According to a New York Post article, cartels have reportedly been providing migrants with illegal passage across the border in exchange for a $200 fee. This route is chosen by many to evade potential bans of up to 5 years if they are denied entry at the border. However, the article also highlighted the dangers associated with this option. Cartels often coerce immigrants into smuggling illegal drugs, subject them to human trafficking, and, in some cases, cutting off fingers when immigrants are unable to pay.
Once in the US, the migrants are often held for ransom in “stash houses” by the cartels after they are smuggled across the southern border, the Post reported. The FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have rescued 88 extortion victims since February 2022 who were being held hostage stash houses near El Paso, TX. The Post said the migrants are often only released when the cartels are paid upward of $3,000. That money is in addition to fees the migrants already paid for their illegal passage, fees which can be up to $10,000 per person.
Cartels also use illegal immigrants they have smuggled as workers. As Beth Warren of USA Today reported, cartels have set up illegal cannabis growing operations in Northern California and Oregon, where they use migrants to work for them. The article added that the workers are subject to brutal conditions, are trafficked, and sometimes disappear or are killed. In one report, a 17-year-old was decapitated along with his father. The cartels running the operations threaten the families of the workers if they report to police. This business produces large amounts of money for cartels by avoiding taxes and being able to ship their supply to states where marijuana is illegal, something legal grows are not allowed to do, USA Today reported.
“The border is effectively controlled by the Mexican cartels.” Chad Wolf, former DHS secretary, told Federal Newswire. Wolf blamed the crisis on Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, adding that "this is the first administration of either political party to deliberately take steps to diminish the security along our southern border."
