Here’s How Migrant Smugglers Use TikTok to Get People Into the United States
By Movieguide® Contributor
TikTok has become a new way for migrant smugglers to help people get into the United States illegally.
According to AP News, “The videos — taken to cartoonish extremes — offer a rare look inside a long elusive industry and the narratives used by trafficking networks to fuel migration north.”
“With God’s help, we’re going to continue working to fulfill the dreams of foreigners. Safe travels without robbing our people,” one smuggler wrote in a video.
One woman, Soary, who is part of a smuggling network that helps migrants get from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, Texas, said, “In this line of work, you have to switch tactics. TikTok goes all over the world.”
Last year, Soary began posting videos on TikTok guaranteeing safe passage into the U.S.
“We’ll pass you through Ciudad Juárez, no matter where you are. Fence jumping, treks, and by tunnel. Adults, children, and the elderly,” she said in one video according to KCRA news.
Soary knows who she needs to help by reading the comments. Anyone who posts emojis of flags and baby chickens wants transportation into the U.S.
READ MORE: PRESIDENT TRUMP LIKELY TO KEEP TIKTOK ONLINE DESPITE LOOMING DEADLINE
Cristina is one person who migrated to the U.S. because “she struggled make ends meet in the Mexican state of Zacatecas.”
“In a moment of desperation, I started searching on TikTok and, well, with the algorithm videos began to pop up,” Cristina said. “It took me a half an hour.”
Time Magazine explained that one way “smugglers and migrants” connect is through “encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, doing a careful dance to gain each other’s trust.”
Cristina now lives in Phoenix, and she trusted Soary because “she was a woman and posted videos of families, something the smuggler admitted was a tactic to gain migrants’ trust.”
READ MORE: DO AMERICANS SUPPORT THE TIKTOK BAN?
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