Human Trafficking vs Human Smuggling

To bounce off my post from regarding Democrats ignoring the border crisis, I thought I could write about something that is often confused. The difference between human trafficking and human smuggling. I think a lot of conservatives conflate the two to bring attention to what's happening and the border. I agree we need to focus on the border, but I'd prefer to be informative on what I'm sharing. So, what is the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling?

Human smuggling (better known as people or migrant smuggling) is defined as moving people across the border illegally. This act does not involve coercion or trickery. Most people being smuggled are doing so voluntarily, and paying for a service to be transported. Most people use smuggling as a form of transportation to get out of a country where poverty or crime has riddled their nation. 

Human trafficking, on the other hand, involves the use of coercion and exploitation for the purpose of either commercial sex (sex trafficking) or forced labor. A significant difference between trafficking and smuggling would be that trafficking isn't only related to migrants (or transporting them). Human trafficking can occur anywhere, even at home. One of the main group of traffickers, according to victims, come from family members. 

The three main forms of human trafficking are sex trafficking, forced labor, or debt bondage. Forced labor is the most common form of human trafficking, but in countries like the United States, sex trafficking is greater because of the high demand for sex. Another form of human trafficking that is unforeseen to the public eye is organ trafficking, which is the illegal trade of human organs for a profit. You might have heard of this term because Planned Parenthood has been caught repeatedly for selling aborted fetal organs.

According to ICE, this doesn't mean human trafficking and human smuggling don't mix. A trafficker may disguise themselves as smugglers, then force their victim to join their business. A smuggler may be transporting migrants, but then chooses to give them to a trafficker. 

This actually makes me think of the movie, Priceless, which focused on this exactly. The main character has the responsibility of transporting two young girls from Mexico to their destination. Once he arrives, the truth comes out that he transported the young girls to a trafficker. He decides he has to save them and shut down the trafficking ring. I saw the movie (which was amazing), and I found out we have the book, so I will be reading this and writing a review. I actually had no idea that the guys from For King and Country wrote this. I had the pleasure of meeting them too!

I hope this article helped inform you on what the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling. Both are serious issues, and we have to hold our elected officials responsible to ensure we are doing what's best for us first, but also those coming here.