NCJ Number
184594
Date Published
1999
Length
244 pages
Annotation
Information from interviews with over 300 illegal Chinese immigrants smuggled into New York City and with smugglers, government officials, and business owners in the United States, China, and Taiwan formed the basis of an analysis of the causes and consequences of this clandestine traffic.
Abstract
The discussion notes that an estimated 50,000 Chinese are smuggled into the United States each year; that smugglers receive fees as high as $30,000; and that the perils of the journey to the United States include hunger, filthy and crowded conditions, and physical and sexual abuse. The first section focuses on the problems associated with illegal Chinese immigration, why authorities in the United States are concerned with this issue, on Chinese enthusiasm for legal and illegal emigration to the United States, and the reasons for clandestine immigration in the context of existing theories about international migration. The next chapter examines the individual and group characteristics of the smugglers themselves and challenges the popular belief that traditional Chinese gangs and organized crime groups are heavily involved in human smuggling. Further chapters examine the air, sea, and land routes of entering the United States, the experiences of Chinese immigrants during and after the smuggling process, the common psychological conditions of new immigrants, and their future plans. The final chapter examines the countermeasures that governments and law enforcement in the sending, transit, and receiving countries have established; the problems that immigration authorities experience in trying to control clandestine immigration; and policies that might address the smuggling of Chinese. Glossary, index, appended methodological information and tables, and approximately 350 references