By definition, alien smuggling (sometimes called people smuggling or human smuggling) is transnational in that it involves more than one country and also usually involves persons who have consented to be transported to another country. This activity generally produces short- term profits for the smugglers. That is, after the aliens reach their final destinations, they have no continuing relationship with the smugglers. In legal and diplomatic references, alien smuggling is distinct from human trafficking, although both smuggling and trafficking may have similarities or common elements. In human trafficking, the criminality and human rights abuses—such as coercion for prostitution, labor sweat shops, or other exploitative purposes and servitude arrangements—may continue after the migrants reach the United States in order to produce both short- term and long-term profits. Whereas a trafficked person is a victim, an alien who consents to be smuggled is subject to criminal processing and deportation. Given the underground nature of alien smuggling, exact figures quantifying the size or scope of this transnational crime are not available. Nonetheless, estimates by the United Nations and the federal law enforcement and intelligence communities indicate that people smuggling is a huge and highly profitable business worldwide, involving billions of dollars annually, and the United States is a major destination country. People smuggling is a continuously growing phenomenon, according to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). The types of smugglers can range from opportunistic business owners who seek cheap labor to well-organized criminal groups that engage in alien smuggling, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities. Partly because of increased border monitoring by governments, Interpol has noted that criminal networks increasingly control the transnational flow of migrants. That is, willing illegal migrants increasingly rely on the services of criminal syndicates that specialize in people smuggling, even though traveling conditions may be inhumane and unsafe. Alien smuggling generally is prosecuted under section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits knowingly or recklessly bringing in, transporting, or harboring certain aliens. Depending on the conduct charged, a conviction under section 274 could result in a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment per alien smuggled. Moreover, significant enhanced penalties are provided for some section 274 violations that involve serious bodily injury or placing life in jeopardy. If certain violations result in the death of any person, the convicted defendant may be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or be subjected to a death sentence. Other federal criminal statutes may also be applicable. Specifically, alien-smuggling-related offenses are among the list of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations predicate offenses (18 U.S.C. § 1961(1)) and also are included within the definition of specified unlawful activity for purposes of the money-laundering statute (18 U.S.C. § 1956). Further, criminal and civil forfeiture statutes may apply to alien- smuggling cases. Although ICE is a primary DHS component for investigating alien smuggling, combating the smuggling of aliens into the United States can involve numerous federal agencies, as well as the cooperation and assistance of foreign governments. In addition to ICE, other relevant DHS components are the Border Patrol (a “front-line defender”), which is now part of CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard, which is tasked with enforcing immigration law at sea. Additionally, significant roles in combating alien smuggling are carried out by Department of Justice components, including the Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and Department of the Treasury components, such as Internal Revenue Service (Criminal Investigation) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Further, Department of State components have significant roles. For instance, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security—the law enforcement arm of the State Department—is statutorily responsible for protecting the integrity of U.S. travel documents. Perhaps the most coveted and sought after travel documents in the world are U.S. passports and visas. Alien smuggling and travel document fraud often are inextricably linked. The March 2003 creation of DHS, including its largest investigative component (ICE), ushered in an opportunity for developing a strategy to combat alien smuggling by, among other means, using financial investigative techniques. Two months later, in May 2003, ICE used such techniques to follow the money and prosecute the perpetrators of a smuggling operation that had resulted in the deaths of 19 aliens in Victoria, Texas. The Victoria 19 case has been cited by ICE as representing a new model for fighting alien smuggling—a model that ICE (1) subsequently used to launch a multi-agency task force (Operation ICE Storm) in the Phoenix (Arizona) metropolitan area and (2) reportedly was using to develop ICE’s national “Antismuggling/Human-Trafficking Strategy.” Although its development was announced as early as June 2003, a national strategy for combating alien smuggling had not been finalized and implemented by ICE as of April 2005. In the absence of a national strategy to combat alien smuggling, including investigating the money trail, ICE used various means to provide interim guidance to investigators. ICE officials indicated that the draft strategy was being adjusted to broadly cover all aspects of smuggling—encompassing aliens, as well as drugs and other illegal contraband—and to focus initially on the southwest border. The strategy’s continuing development period is attributable partly to organizational and training needs associated with integrating the separate and distinct investigative functions of the legacy INS and the U.S. Customs Service, following creation of DHS in March 2003. Also, ICE and CBP— two DHS components with complementary antismuggling missions— signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2004 to address their respective roles and responsibilities, including provisions to ensure proper and timely sharing of information and intelligence. Such sharing is critical to achieving ICE’s investigative objective of determining “how each single violation ties into the larger mosaic of systemic vulnerabilities and organized crime.” The ability to make such determinations should be enhanced when DHS components have compatible or interoperable information technology systems—which is a long-term goal of an ongoing, multiyear project called the Consolidated Enforcement Environment. Currently, however, there is no mechanism in place for tracking the number and the results of referrals or leads made by CBP to ICE for investigation, including even whether ICE declined to act on the referrals. Without such a mechanism, there may be missed opportunities for identifying and developing cases on large or significant alien-smuggling organizations. For instance, if a tracking mechanism were in place, CBP could continue pursuing certain leads if ICE—for lack of available resources or other reasons—does not take action on the referrals. At congressional hearings in June and July 2003, ICE officials testified that ICE was developing a strategy—the Antismuggling/Human-Trafficking Strategy—to address alien smuggling and human trafficking at the national and international levels. The strategy was to concentrate ICE’s efforts in intelligence-driven investigations against major violators, specifically targeting organizations with ties to countries that support terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda. A strategic goal was to dismantle the criminal and terrorist organizations that smuggle or traffic in people by tracing and stripping away their monetary assets. In May 2004, in response to our initial inquiry, ICE headquarters officials told us that the national Antismuggling/Human-Trafficking Strategy was still in draft and was being vetted among DHS components. In October 2004, the officials told us that ICE was narrowing the initial focus of the strategy to the southwest border, between the United States and Mexico— the most active area in terms of smuggling activity and open investigations. The officials explained that ICE was developing a comprehensive southwest border strategy, given the anticipated displacement of smuggling activity to other areas along the border resulting from Operation ICE Storm and the Arizona Border Control Initiative (see app. II). In further elaboration, ICE headquarters officials said that the southwest border strategy would broadly cover all aspects of smuggling to encompass aliens as well as drugs and other illegal contraband. The officials explained that lessons learned—based, for example, on the results of Operation ICE Storm and the Arizona Border Control Initiative—indicated that criminal enterprises tend to smuggle not only people but also drugs, weapons, counterfeit trade goods, and other illegal contraband. The ICE officials emphasized that it was important to incorporate these lessons learned into the southwest border strategy before issuing it. Also, the officials noted that irrespective of whether smuggling involves aliens or contraband, ICE can use similar investigative techniques for following the money trail. In April 2005, ICE officials told us that the draft southwest border strategy was in the final stages of review; had been vetted with CBP, which is ICE’s closest partner in the antismuggling arena; and was expected to be implemented within the next 30 to 60 days. Moreover, the officials said that, following a certain period of implementation, the southwest border strategy would be evaluated and expanded into a nationwide strategy. The officials noted, for instance, that although there is no one law enforcement strategy totally effective in all areas of the nation, the methodologies applied in Arizona with both Operation ICE Storm and the Arizona Border Control Initiative would be evaluated and tailored for use in other parts of the country. “The integration of INS and Customs investigators into a single investigative program has involved blending two vastly different workforces, each with its own culture, policies, procedures, and mission priorities. Both programs were in agencies with dual missions that prior to the merger had differences in investigative priorities. For example, INS primarily looked for illegal aliens and Customs primarily looked for illegal drugs. In addition, INS investigators typically pursued administrative violations, while Customs investigators typically pursued criminal violations.” Thus, at the outset of ICE’s formation in March 2003, a substantial amount of cross-training was needed regarding the relevant enforcement functions and authorities of the respective legacy agencies.