I-10 is serving as a pipeline for human smuggling in southern U.S.

October 4, 2006

I-10 is an interstate that runs from California to Florida has become a magnet for human smugglers. Thousands of illegal workers were sent into the huggicane ravaged Gulf Coast in the past year. Smugglers sought to exploit the labor needs in the damaged areas, U.S.  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.

Gonzales announced that almost $8 million is being used to set up 10 new task forces — partnerships between law enforcement agencies and social service groups — to investigate and prosecute trafficking cases and to help victims. Jim Letten, the New Orleans-based U.S. attorney, said the opportunity for exploitation is ripe in Louisiana, particularly in New Orleans, which he described as “a frontier town now.”. As a result, roughly $450,000 of the funds will go to Louisiana.

Because Interstate 10 skirts the Mexican border in Texas and runs through Louisiana, it has traditionally been seen as a pipeline for moving drugs. But there is a strong opportunity to use the route to move people, Letten said

Other states set to receive funds for new task forces are Florida, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Texas and Utah, as well as the commonwealth of Northern Marianas. Already, 32 task forces are established around the country—in some of the same states getting new groups—and in U.S. territories, according to the Justice Department.

The number of human trafficking cases brought by prosecutors has risen in recent years, according to the Justice Department.  Gonzales credited the rise in cases to an increased focus on the issue and partnerships between agencies.