Borders & Migration  

Increasingly stringent surveillance and violent border policies have heightened migrants’ vulnerability to trafficking and abuse. Border zones are isolated and harsh environments that allow violence to occur beyond public view. Deserts and remote regions are policed in ways “that would be deemed violent, cruel, or irrational in most othe contexts” ( De León, 2015). The Prevention Through Deterrence (PTD) policy, implemented in 1994 and still in effect, aimed to curb migration by heavily policing major crossings and forcing migrants into remote desert terrain. Rather than reducing crossings, PTD increased death rates: since 2000, over six million people have attempted to cross southern Arizona, and at least 4,177 have died, mostly from dehydration and hyperthermia (Underground Migration Project). 

These harmful policies have deepened migrants’ reliance on smugglers, or coyotes, creating economies of exploitation as they often recruit guides to help them navigate harsh desert crossings, who promise safe guidance. Before the 1994 “Gatekeeper Era,” coyotes charged around $143 per crossing (Cornelius 2001). Within two years, prices rose over 50% (Hinkes 2008), and by 2016, 70% of migrants surveyed in Puebla reported using a coyote, paying a median of $2,500 (Slack et al., 2016;  Edwards). This market has risen and this dependency exposes migrants to extortion, assault, and coercion. Families are often threatened or forced to pay additional sums mid-journey, and unaccompanied minors face extreme risks.

The vulnerability to trafficking and extortion continues once migrants arrive in the United States. Many migrants accumulate debt during their journey and are then forced to pay it off through coerced labor, living in substandard housing, and under constant surveillance, kept out of public view and unable to escape exploitative systems. In an Executive Summary published by Polaris, based on a decade of data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, researchers identified trends and patterns in trafficking across the U.S. They found that there were particularly high figures of trafficked individuals seeking aid in the agricultural sector, where 76% of likely victims were immigrants, and nearly half of all victims, immigrant and nonimmigrant, were from Mexico. Migrants who come to the U.S. on legal or temporary visas also make up a significant proportion of trafficking victims. Between 2015 and 2018, Polaris identified nearly 48,000 likely victims of sex and labor trafficking reported to the hotline. Immigration status was known for about 36% (17,000) of these cases, and of those, approximately 8,800 individuals (52%) were not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (p. 4). Polaris noted that Mexico, followed by Guatemala, Honduras, and Caribbean nations, represented the highest regions of origin for migrants contacting the hotline for assistance in trafficking situations. Over this same period, the hotline identified 2,678 individuals likely to be victims of trafficking in agriculture or animal husbandry. Of these, over 2,000 (76%) were immigrants, and individuals from Mexico alone represented 46% of both immigrant and nonimmigrant likely victims of this form of trafficking.

Wood notes that many trafficking victims are lured into the system through promises of legitimate jobs, while others are kidnapped and forced into labor. The threat of deportation often serves as a tool traffickers use to maintain control. With increasingly harsh immigration policies, individuals who are undocumented have become more fearful of seeking help, which worsens these conditions. The fear of retaliation and harm to their families is frequently used as a tactic of control. Traffickers exploit both undocumented and legally present migrants through deception, debt, threats, and violence. Expanding legal aid in high-risk sectors and strengthening survivor protections, through improved T visas, safer reporting, and trauma-informed support, are essential to protect victims and hold exploiters accountable.