A recent case involving a small group of Pakistani migrants illustrates the cruel, but creative methods perpetrated by human smugglers. They used both of these strategies to bring people to Japan. In June, a cohort of 22 of them tried to land in Japan, posing as members of a soccer club. But authorities shut their operation down at Osaka’s Kansai Airport. They arrested the players for not being able to register as members of an actual recognized sports federation or union.
People with roots in Pakistan were caught up in an international smuggling racket. This scheme takes advantage of the glamour of international sports to bypass immigration laws. This unfortunate incident serves as another reminder of how immigration enforcement agencies are struggling to address and disrupt human trafficking and smuggling networks. Though crackdowns, similarly to the war on drugs, have escalated on these illegal activities, smugglers will always find increasingly ingenious ways to outsmart police forces.
Smugglers will stop at nothing to take advantage of the hopes of people looking to improve their economic prospects. Using a fictional football team as cover shows you the lengths they are willing to go. Many migrants from Pakistan go through extreme economic conditions. This lack of opportunity leaves them vulnerable and desperate, and traffickers prey on this desperation by luring victims with the false promise of work and opportunity overseas. The attraction of sports—especially football—has proven to be a powerful hook, offering a justifiable cover for their trip.
Authorities at Kansai Airport said the group was unable to provide any good evidence of their participation in meaningful football activities. Therefore, they were barred from entering. As a result, federal immigration enforcement agents went ahead with deporting the entire group, including children, back to Pakistan. This event has already generated a much-needed debate over the impropriety of our existing immigration enforcement policies. People are urgently demanding stronger measures to stop these schemes in their tracks.
Either scenario should be troubling, and either way, the situation proves that current, high-profile crackdowns on human smuggling operations just don’t work. Law enforcement agencies are leading the way in the fight against the epidemic scourge. At the same time, smugglers are rapidly changing their tactics and using innovative methods to avoid detection. The case of the faux football team highlights not only the desperation faced by many individuals but the creative ingenuity of traffickers who exploit these vulnerabilities.