A mass migration is an emergency situation where large numbers of people leave their country. The U.S. has faced several mass migrations including the Mariel Boatlift , the 1994 Haitian exodus , and the 1994 Cuban rafter crisis . The Coast Guard doesn't really know. Because most migrants are inexperienced at dealing with the challenges of going to sea, or are at the hands of uncaring smugglers, we suspect quite a few die. The Coast Guard finds numerous bodies in areas where migrants transit, but unless they can be identified as coming from a migrant boat, they may be regular individuals who fell off a ship or got carried out to sea while swimming.
Professional smugglers can make significant amounts of money smuggling people.
Professional smuggling has brought more sophisticated tactics, such as meeting pick up vessels at sea or the use of electronics to aid in migrant smuggling. Many smugglers use large vessels capable of carrying larger groups or high speed boats attempting to out run the Coast Guard. Many smugglers have also encouraged migrants to violently resist the Coast Guard, or will even throw them overboard in an attempt to distract pursuing Coast Guard cutters. Coast Guard Cutters were never designed to hold or prepare food for two or three times the size of their crew, therefore they carry nutritious food that can be easily stored and quickly prepared. Rice, beans, water, breads and small amount of fruits or vegetable may be provided to feed migrants during the several days they are aboard a cutter.