Robert Mendick
Chief Reporter
24 September 2024 11:26pm
Migrants are being smuggled into the US by legitimate travel agents based in Europe, the State Department has said.
US authorities accused rogue agencies operating in Europe, Africa and the Middle East of orchestrating illegal immigration.
The State Department said it had sanctioned the owners and executives of agencies selling fraudulent travel documents as well as flights “designed primarily to facilitate irregular migration to the United States”.
Officials declined to say how many travel agencies were involved.
Reports at the end of last year claimed “pseudo-legitimate” travel agencies had organised trips to Mexico and then smuggled between 500 and 1,000 migrants across the border at any one time. CNN has reported that one nationality being targeted was Senegalese who were being lured to Europe and then to the US.
Immigration is a key battleground in the presidential election with Donald Trump positioning himself as the only candidate who can tackle the issue. If the Biden administration can convince voters that it is getting on top of illegal immigration that will hugely assist vice-president Kamala Harris in the tightest of races.
Ms Harris has been accused of presiding over the “worst invasion in US history” over repeated claims made by Trump that she was appointed Joe Biden’s “border czar” although the Administration denies that was ever her role.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the State Department said: “The United States is imposing visa restrictions today on multiple executives of travel agencies in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
“These companies prey on vulnerable people by operating services designed primarily to facilitate irregular migration to the United States through countries in Europe and the Western hemisphere.
“We will continue to engage with partner governments and the private sector to end this exploitative practice, which puts vulnerable people in harm’s way.”
Officials told The Telegraph that the visa restriction policy was part of a “comprehensive approach to reduce irregular migration and targets owners, executives, and senior officials of companies providing travel services and transportation by land, sea, or charter air designed to facilitate irregular migration”.
They said the crackdown was in response to what they called a “disturbing trend” of airlines and agencies offering flights and documentation illegally.
A State Department spokesman added: “No one should profit from vulnerable migrants—not smugglers, private companies, public officials, nor governments.
“We will continue engaging with governments both within and outside the region, as well as the private sector, to counter this exploitative practice, which puts migrants in harm’s way.”
Officials said the identities of the rogue agents were protected by confidentiality laws.
The latest crackdown expands on a more limited policy announced last November which targeted travel agencies running charter flights into Nicaragua for migrants who were then taken on a “dangerous overland path” north to the US border.
Official figures suggest more than 600,000 people illegally entered the US and evaded capture in the 12 months to October 2023.
The post Migrants smuggled into US by European travel agents, says State Department appeared first on The Telegraph.
