Border railroad used in the smuggling and human trafficking of illegal migrants. (C) Ali Hopper 2024. Reprinted with permission of Ali Hopper.

By Dr. Jarrod Sadulski
Faculty Member, Criminal Justice

and Alicia Hopper
Researcher, Sadulski Enterprises, LLC

In August 2024, we went to San Diego County, California, to conduct human trafficking research. The information we obtained about what happens to migrants trying to enter the U.S. through the southwest border was horrific and showed the need for urgent action.

We met with Cory Gautereaux. Cory is the founder of the GOAT Initiative, a nonprofit that uses intelligence gathering and collaboration with law enforcement to combat human trafficking along the southwest border.

Cartels Discard the Identification of Illegal Migrants

Cory showed us the thousands of identification cards of illegal migrants he found at the southwest border near Jacumba, California. We saw discarded passports and identification cards from Turkey, Afghanistan, China, and other countries around the world.

According to Cory, cartel members discard the identity documents of people who they smuggle, who later become trafficking victims in the U.S. Often, cartels provide a new and false identity for these migrants.

A former cartel member and former sex trafficker at the border in California explained why cartels prefer that their victims have a fake identity. By providing new identification, the criminal history of a smuggling victim is erased, and that person can give Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) a fictitious name. According to the former sex trafficker, cartels use vans with scanners and other equipment to provide migrants with fake IDs.

CBP does not have the manpower to confirm the true identity of migrants from most countries. As a result, CBP is forced to enter the fake name into their database.

Finding Disturbing Information Concerning Illegal Migrants on a Smuggler’s Lost Phone

Cory also showed us a cell phone that he found on the border. Typically, smugglers’ phones are smashed so that data cannot be received, and this phone likely fell out of a smuggler’s pocket.

Cory found information on the phone that indicated that it belonged to someone who came from Wuhan, China. The phone contained the Telegram^® app, which allows people to communicate through text messages, voice calls, video calls and group chats. The phone had 40 chat groups from Telegram.

The information on the phone was also indicative of a lot of criminal activity. The phone contained information such as:

• How to purchase a child for sex
• Areas in San Diego County where the border wall could be infiltrated
• Instructions for entering the U.S. illegally
• Detailed information on the United States’ nuclear posture

Cartel Activity on Both Sides of the Border

Corey pointed out certain houses used as lookout houses and stash houses by cartels on both sides of the border. Stash houses typically have an extensive amount of security, such as bars on the windows and video cameras. The video cameras provide surveillance that extends out to nearby intersections, enabling the cartel members and traffickers to know who is approaching their area.

On the border, we observed some Mexican military stations, located in areas where the border wall ends. These stations consisted of three or four tents with approximately four to six men between the ages of 18-22. These stations created the impression that Mexican officials were present to prevent illegal immigration crossing, but our observations led us to believe the Mexican military is likely ineffective.  

An Interview with a Property Manager on the Border

We interviewed a property manager who oversees a large border property without fencing, used daily for migrant smuggling. This property manager often hears violence, but he is too afraid to investigate.

He mentioned two paths. One path is used for higher-paying illegal migrants from Asia, the Middle East and Turkey, who seem to suffer less exploitation. The other path is used for poorer illegal migrants from Central and South America.

We walked both paths and found torn clothing and other evidence indicative of exploitation.

The property manager explained that he doesn’t call the police because they are 30 minutes away and do not get involved with the illegal migrants in California. CBP does not seem to have a major presence in this area.

In essence, migrant women and children are forced to fend for themselves against violent cartel members and sex traffickers with little apparent protection from the U.S. or Mexican governments.

Cartel Members Smuggling Illegal Migrants in Daylight

While traveling with Cory, we saw a child being handed through the border wall panels by a masked cartel member to an adult on the other side. Two cartel members in ski masks were also present.

With CBP nearby, we approached the group of illegal migrants. One of the cartel members gave us a peace sign.

The cartel members used a black rope ladder to smuggle over two adults associated with the child. One cartel member even took a photo to confirm these people had been smuggled across the wall. 

Afterward, the entire group leisurely walked away. It was very clear that the cartel members had no fear of reprisals from the nearby Mexican military or CBP officers on the U.S. side.

Finding Ashly, a Migrant Child

While we walked along an area where no border wall existed, we came across a place commonly used for smuggling and trafficking illegal migrants. We found a relatively new passport, belonging to a five-year-old Colombian girl named Ashly.

It is always disheartening to find the discarded identification of children on the southwest border. Sadly, many of these migrant children are forced into sex trafficking, illicit adoption and other criminal activities.

Photos of Ashly’s passport. Image courtesy of Dr. Jarrod Sadulski.

Haunted by the realities of what could have occurred to Ashly, we became determined to locate her. Since Ashly was from Colombia, we reached out to our INTERPOL contacts in Colombia, who we closely work with on other human trafficking research.

INTERPOL investigated and told us that Ashly did not have the required parental consent from the father to depart Colombia. We contacted other organizations and agencies in the U.S. and found Ashly, who is now safe.

But Ashly’s case is not rare. We noticed some migrant children on our flight from the border. Some of these children were accompanied by an adult who was transporting the child to a sponsor. Other times, the child flew alone.

When we spoke with our flight attendant, she said that these unaccompanied children are placed on these flights all the time. According to her, the system is so broken that sometimes the children are placed on the wrong flight. Sometimes there is no one waiting for the child when airline staff escorts these children off the plane.

Creating a Permanent Solution for the Human Trafficking Problem Along the Southwest Border

From our research, we have determined that our federal government must do more to provide adequate protection for unaccompanied migrant children. We have spoken about this issue to the U.S. Senate.

Unfortunately, cartels know the loopholes in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) vetting of sponsors and exploit those loopholes to traffic children to the U.S. For example, ORR was responsible for sending more than 100 children to the same address in Austin, Texas.

In another case, 44 children were sent to a different address in Texas. This negligent handling of migrant children leads to children being trafficked and told to perform forced labor; we have seen many cases.

On our trip, we learned that migrants want to be caught by CBP. This way, they can claim asylum, receive an immigration court date that is four to seven years in the future and be released. Illegal migrants receive food, clothing, and other supplies by non-government organizations that bill the federal government billions in migrant services fees.

The cartels’ sexual exploitation of women and children on both the U.S. and Mexican sides of the border and the trafficking of children through loopholes in the federal government’s ORR program are problems that are completely avoidable. In the future, the U.S. government will hopefully take more practical steps to permanently stop these crimes from happening to illegal migrants.

Telegram is a registered trademark of Telegram FZ-LLC.

About the Authors

Dr. Jarrod Sadulski is an associate professor in the School of Security and Global Studies and has over two decades in the field of criminal justice. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Thomas Edison State College, a master’s degree in criminal justice from American Military University and a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Northcentral University.

His expertise includes training on countering human trafficking, maritime security, mitigating organized crime, and narcotics trafficking trends in Latin America. He has also testified to both the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate on human trafficking and child exploitation. He has been recognized by the U.S. Senate as an expert in human trafficking.

Jarrod frequently conducts in-country research and consultant work in Central and South America on human trafficking and current trends in narcotics trafficking. Also, he has a background in business development. For more information on Jarrod and links to his social media and website or to contact him, check out https://linktr.ee/jarrodsadulski.

Alicia (Ali) Hopper holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and a paralegal certificate in intellectual property law. Ali is dedicated to combating human trafficking through rigorous research and data collection. She gathers information from diverse sources and uses thematic analysis to uncover emerging and critical trends in human trafficking.

Ali is a member of a distinguished research team that has provided testimony and consulting to both the U.S. Senate and Congress. She has conducted research with Jarrod on the Southwest Border on human trafficking and has witnessed firsthand the impacts of trafficking and smuggling.

Traveling across the country, Ali shares her insights and findings on human trafficking, presenting on the most urgent issues in the field. She collects data from incarcerated former sex traffickers both in the U.S. and internationally and engages directly with trafficking victims to deepen her understanding of the problem and develop effective mitigation strategies.

With her expertise, Ali is a leading voice in the fight against human trafficking, bringing crucial information and perspectives to policymakers and the public. For more information on Ali and links to her social media and website, check out https://linktr.ee/alihopper.