FACILITATED ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Transcription

1 September 2009 FACILITATED ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION 1. Backgrund The term facilitated illegal immigratin cvers a number f different serius crimes all aimed at assisting, fr financial gain, the entry int r residence in a cuntry in vilatin f the laws f that cuntry. Facilitated illegal immigratin thus cvers the prductin and prcurement f falsified travel dcuments r permits btained under false pretences, the prvisin f clandestine transprtatin r ther assistance in rder t btain illegal entry r stay, ften cnnected t a number f ther criminal activities. Migratin itself is nt illegal; it is in fact necessary fr the develpment f bth surce and destinatin cuntries. Migratin, hwever, becmes illegal when individuals themselves, r with the assistance f thers, attempt t enter a cuntry clandestinely r by deceptive means. The Eurpl Cnventin defines illegal immigrant smuggling as:...activities intended deliberately t facilitate, fr financial gain, the entry int, residence r emplyment in the territry f the Member States f the Eurpean Unin, cntrary t the rules and cnditins applicable in the Member States. Like mst ther criminal prblems, quantifying illegal immigratin is very difficult due t its cvert nature, as is defining exactly wh the perpetratrs and victims are. The reasns why migrants leave their hme cuntries are cmmnly referred t as push factrs and can include cnflicts, disslutin and/r disintegratin f multicultural states, natural disasters r ther envirnmental prblems, discriminatin, plitical instability r pr ecnmic situatins. Althugh pverty, cnflict and disasters are all pwerful push factrs, they tend t cause lcal r reginal migratin, nt internatinal facilitated illegal immigratin. Pr and war-trn states are less interesting fr the facilitatrs f illegal immigratin since peple in these states usually cannt pay the huge fees these facilitatrs demand. Paired with the push factrs are the s called pull factrs, thse criteria that make a destinatin cuntry attractive t a prspective migrant. These factrs may include the need fr a labur frce, a psitive ecnmic situatin, demcratic gvernance with plitical and scial stability, and varius histrical r cultural links between the surce and destinatin cuntry, but especially the presence f large cmmunities frm the

2 surce cuntries in the destinatin cuntries. The existence f rganised crime (OC) grups, invlved in the facilitatin f illegal immigratin and present in a destinatin cuntry, tends t act as a pull factr in itself. These OC grups actively prmte illegal immigratin and tend t create and develp their wn illicit market by encuraging peple wh wuld therwise have had n intentin f emigrating. This trend is als flurishing in transit cuntries r in sme f the cuntries surrunding the EU that in sme cases were the riginal desired destinatin cuntries f the migrants. Geplitical psitin, legislatin, plicies, prcedures and the pririties in cmbating facilitated illegal immigratin vary between the EU MS. These differences may t sme extent explain why neighburing EU MS experience very different prblems with illegal immigratin. 2. Prblematic Gegraphical Areas and Natinalities Accrding t the reprt released in March 2009 by the United Natins High Cmmissiner fr Refugees (UNHCR), the tp ten natinalities claiming plitical asylum in the EU during 2007/08 were Iraqi, Russian, Smali, Serbian, Pakistani, Afghan, Nigerian, Eritrean, Iranian and Bangladeshi. Hwever, asylum statistics shuld nt serve as the nly indicatr f the prblem natinalities that the EU is faced with as the illegal immigratin issue is much mre cmplex. Fr example, a current majr issue fr EU immigratin authrities are Brazilians wh tend nt t abuse EU asylum prcesses t establish residence. Illegal immigrants frm bth Brazil and China mainly use air rutes t reach the EU. The tp ten natinalities detected fr illegal brder crssings at the EU external land and sea brders in 2008 were Albanian, Afghan, Mrccan, Smali, Iraqi, Tunisian, Nigerian, Eritrean, Palestinian and Algerian. 1 The majrity f illegal immigrants frm Africa are currently arriving at the Italian shres, particularly its islands f Lampedusa, Sicily and Sardinia. There is, hwever, still a pressure f maritime illegal immigratin frm Africa n mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. The casts and islands f Greece are mainly targeted by illegal immigrants frm the Middle East and Suth Asia. They use land rutes t Turkey frm where they are smuggled further nwards t the EU. Turkey is ne f the majr nexus pints in the Nrthern Hemisphere fr OC grups facilitating illegal immigratin frm the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Greece is als a first destinatin fr illegal immigrants frm Albania wh are largely smuggled via the green brder between the tw cuntries. The Western Balkans is still a regin f rigin fr illegal immigrants int the EU, but it is als a transit regin fr illegal immigrants frm ther parts f the wrld. Eastern Eurpe utside the EU is nt nly a surce f illegal immigratin, but it als plays an imprtant rle as a transit regin fr mixed migratin flws. In particular, Mscw and Kiev are very imprtant hubs fr illegal migratin in the regin. Illegal immigratin frm and thrugh the Western Balkans and the Frmer Sviet Unin affects the whle f the EU and nt just thse MS situated in eastern and suth eastern Eurpe. 1 Frntex statistics 2008

3 3. The Invlvement f Organised Crime In general, OC grups invlved in the facilitatin f illegal immigrants tend t be structured in lse netwrks f smaller grups and mst f them have ethnic r therwise cultural cnnectins t the illegal immigrants they are facilitating. The illegal immigrants tend t be recruited by r turn t facilitatrs frm the same ethnic backgrund. The facilitatrs may sub-cntract parts f the jurney t ther grups, resulting in mre mixed facilitatin netwrks. The further away frm the cuntry f rigin the smuggled immigrants get, the greater the chance that the smugglers r facilitatrs will be f a different backgrund t themselves, and the lads f illegal immigrants als tend t becme mre mixed. The OC grups invlved in the facilitatin f illegal immigratin generally display a high degree f adaptability and a strng ability t cllabrate well acrss brders regardless f ethnic differences, als in regins where there is a traditin f ethnic cnflict. The facilitatrs are quick t detect and make use f varius changes in sciety, such as law enfrcement respnses, changes in legislatin r regulatins, as well as the pening f new r cheaper transprt rutes r new brder crssing pints. OC grups invlved in facilitatin f illegal immigratin als cmmnly adapt t cuntermeasures by law enfrcement thrugh active displacement, where the facilitatrs respnd t increased brder cntrl activities by simply changing the rute. In the majrity f cases, facilitated illegal immigratin is rganised by smaller criminal grups lacking the capacity t plan and execute a cmplete trip frm the surce cuntry t the intended destinatin. These OC grups facilitate the illegal immigrant in steps, arranging each step n an ad hc basis, utilising cntacts with ther criminal grups. Each step is usually between tw nexus pints. Nexus pints are relatively fixed pints alng a given rute where particular services r pprtunities are available (e.g. cntact t facilitatrs, safe huses, illicit brder crssing pints in the vicinity, transprt terminals etc). The actual gegraphic rute, and the means f transprtatin used, between each nexus pint can vary greatly, but t a large extent the majr nexus pints remain cnstant. The sub-cntractrs used by the main facilitatrs t carry ut the actual physical transprtatin f the illegal immigrants may als be sub-cntracted by ther OC grups already invlved in ther crimes, e.g. the smuggling f arms r drugs. It is, hwever, relatively rare t find illegal immigrants transprted in the same vehicles at the same time as drugs r arms. Illegal immigrants have als n ccasin acted as mules, i.e. carrying drugs as payment fr the facilitatin. There are als sme crssvers f facilitated illegal immigratin int ther areas f serius and rganised crime. Currently, there are clse links between the facilitated illegal immigratin f Vietnamese natinals and cannabis cultivatin in the EU. Anther area where there are crssvers is in the prductin r prcurement f falsified dcuments where the frgers can make an extra prfit by selling t ther OC grups invlved in ther frms f crimes than facilitatin f illegal immigratin.

4 4. Abuse f Legal Migratin Systems One example f hw OC grups have adapted t changes in cntrl prcedures is by the increased misuse f legal migratin systems, i.e. student, business r turist visas r thrugh marriages f cnvenience. A Eurpean Cuncil reslutin f 1997 highlighted the increasing threat frm marriages f cnvenience fr the EU and encuraged the MS t bring their natinal legislatin int line with this reslutin. A Eurpl study frm 2008 indicated that mre than 8,000 cases f marriages f cnvenience were reprted in Hwever, many MS cannt separate statistics n marriages f cnvenience frm ther visa abuse cases s the actual number f cases is mst prbably significantly higher. The invlvement f legitimate business structures (LBS) in relatin t facilitated illegal immigratin has grwn in imprtance. Facilitatrs f illegal immigratin can, fr example, use travel agencies t arrange travel packages including the prcurement f visas. Emplyment agencies and shipping agencies are ther LBS that may be abused in rder t facilitate illegal immigratin. Anther purpse fr using LBS is mney laundering, and the facilitatrs can, thrugh wnership f r clse influence t LBS, cver different kinds f their illicit activities. Sme facilitatrs f illegal immigratin have set up bgus schls in rder t btain and abuse student visas. 5. Falsified Travel Dcuments Imprved management f the external brder f the EU has led t the increased use f falsified dcuments. The prductin r prcurement f falsified dcuments is an illicit market where the OC grups specialised in the facilitatin f illegal immigratin can make extra prfit. Travel dcument falsificatins range frm alteratins f persnal data and substitutin f phts t sphisticated and high quality reprductins f entire dcuments. Althugh travel dcuments, such as passprts, natinal ID cards, visas and residence r wrk permits, are the mst cmmnly falsified travel dcuments, a number f ther types f dcuments are targeted by OC grups. Dcuments needed t supprt a bgus applicatin fr a business r student visa are frequently falsified. These kinds f dcuments may include registratins fr a schl r study, supprting letters frm an emplyer r an invitatin frm a cmpany within the EU. The use f ther dcumentatin, such as seaman bks and jining letters frm shipping cmpanies and the merchant navy, is als used t allw illegal immigrants t enter r transit the EU withut visas. 6. Law Enfrcement Respnse In recent years, the EU has imprved and reinfrced the management f its external brders; this may have driven mre illegal immigrants t seek assistance t achieve clandestine entry and thereby t get invlved with OC grups.

5 Law enfrcement agencies are nt nly tasked t investigate cases f facilitated illegal immigratin, but als t act practively and prevent new cases. In rder t succeed in bth tasks, law enfrcement needs t implement flexible and cmprehensive strategies t identify and jintly investigate OC grups and their crimes. Since facilitated illegal immigratin is by definitin a transnatinal crime, Eurpl prmtes an investigative apprach that includes multi-lateral and multi-agency cperatin between plice and brder management agencies, nt nly at natinal and reginal level, but mre imprtantly n an EU-wide scale. Eurpl supprts the law enfrcement activities f the Member States by: Facilitating the exchange f infrmatin, in accrdance with natinal law, between Eurpl Liaisn Officers (ELOs); ELOs are secnded t Eurpl by the Member States as representatives f their natinal law enfrcement agencies; Prviding peratinal analysis in supprt f investigatins and peratins; Generating strategic reprts (e.g. threat assessments) and crime analysis n the basis f infrmatin and intelligence supplied by Member States and third parties; Prviding advice, expertise and technical supprt fr investigatins and peratins carried ut within the EU, under the supervisin and the legal respnsibility f the Member States cncerned; Operatinal supprt may include, but is nt limited t: Supprt frm Eurpl s Analysis Wrk Files where persnal data can be stred and where active analysis is prvided in rder t identify criminal netwrks; Use f the Infrmatin System f Eurpl where persnal data can be stred in rder t prvide quick reference t the available infrmatin and where pssible hits between different investigatins can be autmatically detected; Jint Investigatin Teams (JIT) where Eurpl specialists, n request, can be an active partner in a crss brder investigatin. On a strategic level, Eurpl supprts law enfrcement activities by prducing reprts and assessments f the threat frm crime grups facilitating illegal immigratin n a pan-eurpean Unin level and by prviding regular updates n trends and mdus perandi t EU MS and partners thrugh, fr example, the Eurpl Illegal Immigratin Intelligence Bulletin (which has restricted access). Eurpl is als active in prmting crime analysis and harmnisatin f investigative techniques within the Member States.