Cartels are getting rich off of Democrat open borders policies

Washington Times:

Smuggling cartels are making at least $500 million a year bringing migrants into the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Congress on Tuesday, outlining the scope of the problem for lawmakers as illegal border crossings continue to surge.

Ms. Nielsen took a firm stand on the causes of the surge, saying economies in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are growing and homicide rates are falling, suggesting the push factors back home should be easing. Instead, she said, the booming U.S. economy and lax American laws are enticing the flow northward.

That contradicts the narrative offered by immigrant rights activists, who have said violence in Central America has spawned the wave of illegal immigrants over the past few months, erasing gains made during President Trump’s early weeks in office and sending the rates of illegal immigration back up to the levels seen under President Obama.

“We do face a crisis,” the secretary told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in a hearing called to review her department’s budget and policies.

The $500 million figure paid by illegal immigrants to smuggling cartels appeared to be the first time a federal official has put a dollar amount on that particular activity.

Homeland Security declined to provide the numbers behind the calculation, but the department last year said migrants were paying an average of $8,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. — up significantly from a few years ago. Mexicans generally pay lower rated, and those from Asian countries often pay $25,000 or more for the trip.

Court documents show Central Americans pay a rate close to the $8,000 average Homeland Security cited last year.

The money is split among the “coyotes,” or guides, who shepherd the migrants through Central America and Mexico to the border; the stash house operators and smugglers who transport them to their final destinations in the U.S.; and the major cartels that oversee all sides of the operation.

“To be clear — human smuggling operations are lining the pockets of transnational criminals. They are not humanitarian endeavors,” Ms. Nielsen said. Smugglers prioritize profit over people. And when aliens pay them to get here, they are contributing $500 million a year — or more — to groups that are fueling greater violence and instability in America and the region.”
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Democrat dependency programs are part of the draw and they cost additional millions to support these people.   This is part of the damage that the open borders policy of Democrats is costing the US and benefitting criminals.