IMR

Volume 41 Number 2 (Summer 2007)291ndash315

291

copy 2007 by the Center for Migration Studies of New York All rights reservedDOI 101111j1747-7379200700069x

Blackwell Publishing LtdOxford UKIMREInternational Migration Review0197-9183copy 2007 by the Center for Migration Studies of New York All rights reservedXXX Original Articles

Irregular Migration Human Smuggling and EU-Enlargement International Migration Review

Irregular Migration Human Smuggling and the Eastern Enlargement of the European Union

1

Michael Jandl

International Centre for Migration Policy Development Vienna

This article examines the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration across Central and EasternEurope Drawing on a unique collection of both quantitative and qualitativedata related to irregular migration and human smuggling the article firstpresents some long-term trends in irregular migration across the regionbefore taking up more recent developments in 2003 and 2004 Whileborder apprehensions have broadly declined since about 2000 there isample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration In addition there are noticeable changes in the modusoperandi of human smugglers

INTRODUCTION

Following the political transformations in formerly socialist countries after1989 the new freedoms of movement deplorable social and economicconditions rapid industrial restructuring of the formerly centrally plannedeconomies coupled with low incomes and high unemployment and escalatingpolitical and violent conflicts have all conspired to drive people abroad in thesearch for better lives often via irregular means While regular migration fromEast to West has quickly been contained by tighter entry restrictions of Western

1

Michael Jandl is Senior Research Officer at the International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment (ICMPD) in Vienna The views expressed in this article are those of the authoronly and not those of ICMPD as a Vienna-based intergovernmental organization or of itsmember states The work presented is mainly based on a regular survey of border managementauthorities carried out by ICMPD and also draws on insights gained in a European CollaborativeResearch Project on human smuggling carried out under the umbrella of the European ScienceFoundation with the financial support of the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) from 2002to 2005

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European states irregular migration

2

and human smuggling to through andfrom Central and Eastern European countries has grown considerably through-out the 1990s (Koser 2001 Futo and Tass 2002 Laczko Stacher andKlekowski von Koppenfels 2002) By 2000 various authors had estimated thetotal volume of irregular entries to the European Union (EU) between 400000and 600000 per year the overwhelming part of it going through the EUrsquoseastern borders and a large and growing share of it being facilitated byprofessional people smugglers (Heckmann and Wunderlich 2000 Laczko andThompson 2000 Morrison and Crossland 2001 Muumlller-Schneider 2001Jandl 2005)

At the same time throughout the 1990s more and more countries in theregion stepped up their efforts of better controlling their own borders andgenerally improving their capacities for migration management includingtheir admission readmission and asylum procedures With few exceptions(such as Belarus) the prospect of eventually joining the EU or at least developingcloser ties with it have provided a powerful impetus to enhance their capacitiesfor border control and migration management including their efforts intackling the growing significance of irregular transit migration through theregion to Western European states Meanwhile border apprehension statisticsindicate a sustained decline of detected irregular border crossings across theregion since the turn of the century (Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) Thesedevelopments however which can at least partly be attributed to the deterrenteffects of stricter border enforcement and other measures have largelygone unnoticed by migration researchers and a hyped media whose basicassumption continues to be an unrelenting increase of irregular migration fromEast to West

The year 2004 then marked the accession to the EU of ten new MemberStates eight of which were former socialist countries of Central and EasternEurope In addition to these countries which are now fully integrated intothe structures of the EU even more states of the region have become involvedin strengthening their cooperation with the EU through special partner-ship programs such as the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreements with

2

The terms ldquoirregular migrationrdquo and ldquoillegal migrationrdquo are used synonymously in this paperStrictly speaking the term ldquoillegal migrationrdquo should refer only to the illegal crossing of borderswhile the term ldquoirregular migrationrdquo encompasses a wider range of irregularities in migrationprocesses However this differentiation is not always followed in the literature and thus may notbe understood by all readers Moreover as this article focuses on illegal border crossings bothterms can be equally applied in this context

I

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EU-E

293

states in South-Eastern Europe or the new European Neighbourhood Policyextending far into Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

Related to this latest fifth round of EU-Enlargement was a renewed fearof increasing flows of irregular migrants through Europersquos ldquoEastern Gaterdquo andof the resulting social and security problems associated with them This articlethen will look at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement inMay 2004 on irregular migration across Central and Eastern Europe Drawingon a unique collection of both quantitative and qualitative data related toirregular migration and human smuggling the article will first give an overviewof some long-term trends in irregular migration in 19 states across the regionbefore taking up more recent developments in 2003 and 2004 In order tounderstand the nature of irregular migration in the region much of which hasby now become transit migration rather than migration originating fromwithin the region the analysis focuses on the source and transit countries ofirregular migrants their demographic characteristics and discernible patternsand trends of their movements Finally we will turn our attention to thosefacilitating illegal border crossings ie the human smugglers and their shiftingmodus operandi in light of their rapidly changing operating environment

IRREGULAR MIGRATION AT EUROPErsquoS EASTERN FRINGES A FRAGMENTED KNOWLEDGE BASE

As systematic research on irregular migration and human smuggling to Europehas only been carried out from the mid-1990s onward the number of studiesthat can help to assemble the ldquolarger picturerdquo of irregular migration in theregion extending both in space and time is still limited Nevertheless giventhe difficulties presented by irregular migration as a subject of research andthe resulting lack of ldquohardrdquo evidence for most aspects of the phenomenoneven studies with a limited geographical or thematic scope have contributedmuch to a better understanding of irregular migration and human smugglingphenomena across the region

Some of these studies have dealt with irregular migration specific tovarious locations for example to Poland (Okoacutelski 2000) Hungary Polandand Ukraine (Laczko and Thompson 2000) the former Yugoslavia (Mavris2002) Turkey (Iccedilduygu and Toktas 2002) or Ukraine (Uehling 2004) Anothergroup of studies have devoted their attention to the ways and means of irregularmigration and have focused on the dynamics and organizational structuresinvolved in human smuggling in Europe generally (Muumlller-Schneider 2000Alt 2001) or for specific nationalities involved (Finckenauer 2001) Others

294 I

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have examined migrant motives (Boswell 2002) the role of migrant networks(Crisp 1999) the socioeconomic profile of irregular migrants (Elwert 2002)or the role of irregular labor markets (Lederer and Nickel 1997) Thereare also a few authors who have set out to develop theoretical perspectivescharacterizing human smuggling generally as a ldquobusinessrdquo (Salt and Stein 1997)or more specifically as a ldquotransnational service industryrdquo (Bilger Hofmann andJandl 2006)

What is largely missing in the literature however is a wider cross-countryperspective on irregular migration in Central and Eastern Europe based onempirical evidence It is this gap that the present article seeks to address Whileirregular migration by its very nature is largely hidden from view it has beenargued that the phenomenon is traceable to some degree in official statisticsand that these can be analyzed for trends (Heckmann 2004) More specificallyit has been demonstrated that a careful analysis of border apprehension datacan reveal much about the main characteristics and trends in illegal bordercrossings in Central and Eastern Europe (Futo and Tass 2002)

The empirical basis for the subsequent analysis is provided by an annualsurvey of statistics and other data related to irregular migration and humansmuggling and trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe which has beenimplemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Developmentin Vienna The survey has collected border apprehension statistics and otherdata from border services and associated national migration institutions inCentral and Eastern Europe since 1997 Over the past few years the survey hasbeen progressively improved and expanded to include more data and countriesThe 2002 2003 and 2004 surveys include detailed data for 18 17 and 20countries respectively In addition to detailed quantitative indicators on irregularmigration and human smuggling many border services regularly provideunique qualitative insights from their operational experience in dealing withirregular migration and human smuggling The following sections will belimited to the main findings and regional trends emanating from the detailedcountry-by-country surveys For further details reference is made to the annualpublication of the Yearbook (Futo and Tass 2003 Futo and Jandl 2004 2005)

Regional Overview

On the basis of the data provided by the border management services andassociated national migration institutions of Central and Eastern Europeancountries over the years the following general picture can be compiled Afterrising throughout the 1990s the total number of border apprehensions in 20

I

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H

S

EU-E

295

Central and Eastern European countries

3

plus Kosovo peaked at around270000 in the year 2000 Since then there has been a gradual (if uneven)decrease in aggregate border apprehensions to 238000 in 2001 189000 in2002 157000 in 2003 and 145000 in 2004 (see Table 1)

It must be noted that this pronounced decrease in aggregate numbers (by47 over 5 years) was far from uniform In 2004 for example aggregateborder apprehensions for the 20 + 1 decreased by 75 compared to the previ-ous year yet half the countries (ten plus Kosovo) actually registered increasesin border apprehensions while the rest noted decreases While Turkey still

3

These are Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine

TABLE 1NUMBER OF BORDER VIOLATION-RELATED APPREHENSIONS BY PLACE OF APPREHENSION

Place of Apprehension 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

ChangeAbsoluteChange

Armeniaa (1) 253 253 253 130 376 49 123Azerbaijan (2) 5672 7640 8299 3846 2904 minus49 minus2768Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) 741 741 390 957 875 18 134Bulgaria 7192 5962 6451 5133 5948 minus17 minus1244Croatiaa 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590 minus89 minus21590Cyprusa 456 182 725 3726 2559 461 2103Czech Republic 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695 minus67 minus22025Estonia 5 10 51 53 62 1140 57Georgia (1) 107 107 107 114 100 minus7 minus7Hungarya 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103 minus34 minus6614Kosovo

Protectorate of the UN (1) 320 320 320 262 378 18 58Latviaa (2) 11987 7838 9737 19827 10546 minus12 minus1441Lithuaniaa 798 1355 797 803 947 19 149Macedonia (4) 2081 3032 2081 1402 1808 minus13 minus273Polanda 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762 5 262Romaniaa 3495 3598 3084 2133 1496 minus57 minus1999Serbia-Montenegrob 3788 1278 907 862 1053 minus72 minus2735Slovakia 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334 37 2272Slovenia 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680 minus84 minus30234Turkey 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228 minus35 minus33286Ukraine 15909 12558 9600 9602 8493 minus47 minus7416Total 271411 237619 188605 156754 144937 minus47 minus126474

Notes aRevised figures bS-M foreign citizens only(1) Estimates for 2000ndash2002(2) Estimate for 2000(3) Estimate for 2000ndash2001(4) Estimates for 2000 and 2002

Sources ICMPD (2001 2002) Futo and Tass (2003) Futo and Jandl (2004 2005)

296 I

M

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remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

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EU

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297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

292 I

M

R

European states irregular migration

2

and human smuggling to through andfrom Central and Eastern European countries has grown considerably through-out the 1990s (Koser 2001 Futo and Tass 2002 Laczko Stacher andKlekowski von Koppenfels 2002) By 2000 various authors had estimated thetotal volume of irregular entries to the European Union (EU) between 400000and 600000 per year the overwhelming part of it going through the EUrsquoseastern borders and a large and growing share of it being facilitated byprofessional people smugglers (Heckmann and Wunderlich 2000 Laczko andThompson 2000 Morrison and Crossland 2001 Muumlller-Schneider 2001Jandl 2005)

At the same time throughout the 1990s more and more countries in theregion stepped up their efforts of better controlling their own borders andgenerally improving their capacities for migration management includingtheir admission readmission and asylum procedures With few exceptions(such as Belarus) the prospect of eventually joining the EU or at least developingcloser ties with it have provided a powerful impetus to enhance their capacitiesfor border control and migration management including their efforts intackling the growing significance of irregular transit migration through theregion to Western European states Meanwhile border apprehension statisticsindicate a sustained decline of detected irregular border crossings across theregion since the turn of the century (Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) Thesedevelopments however which can at least partly be attributed to the deterrenteffects of stricter border enforcement and other measures have largelygone unnoticed by migration researchers and a hyped media whose basicassumption continues to be an unrelenting increase of irregular migration fromEast to West

The year 2004 then marked the accession to the EU of ten new MemberStates eight of which were former socialist countries of Central and EasternEurope In addition to these countries which are now fully integrated intothe structures of the EU even more states of the region have become involvedin strengthening their cooperation with the EU through special partner-ship programs such as the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreements with

2

The terms ldquoirregular migrationrdquo and ldquoillegal migrationrdquo are used synonymously in this paperStrictly speaking the term ldquoillegal migrationrdquo should refer only to the illegal crossing of borderswhile the term ldquoirregular migrationrdquo encompasses a wider range of irregularities in migrationprocesses However this differentiation is not always followed in the literature and thus may notbe understood by all readers Moreover as this article focuses on illegal border crossings bothterms can be equally applied in this context

I

M

H

S

EU-E

293

states in South-Eastern Europe or the new European Neighbourhood Policyextending far into Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

Related to this latest fifth round of EU-Enlargement was a renewed fearof increasing flows of irregular migrants through Europersquos ldquoEastern Gaterdquo andof the resulting social and security problems associated with them This articlethen will look at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement inMay 2004 on irregular migration across Central and Eastern Europe Drawingon a unique collection of both quantitative and qualitative data related toirregular migration and human smuggling the article will first give an overviewof some long-term trends in irregular migration in 19 states across the regionbefore taking up more recent developments in 2003 and 2004 In order tounderstand the nature of irregular migration in the region much of which hasby now become transit migration rather than migration originating fromwithin the region the analysis focuses on the source and transit countries ofirregular migrants their demographic characteristics and discernible patternsand trends of their movements Finally we will turn our attention to thosefacilitating illegal border crossings ie the human smugglers and their shiftingmodus operandi in light of their rapidly changing operating environment

IRREGULAR MIGRATION AT EUROPErsquoS EASTERN FRINGES A FRAGMENTED KNOWLEDGE BASE

As systematic research on irregular migration and human smuggling to Europehas only been carried out from the mid-1990s onward the number of studiesthat can help to assemble the ldquolarger picturerdquo of irregular migration in theregion extending both in space and time is still limited Nevertheless giventhe difficulties presented by irregular migration as a subject of research andthe resulting lack of ldquohardrdquo evidence for most aspects of the phenomenoneven studies with a limited geographical or thematic scope have contributedmuch to a better understanding of irregular migration and human smugglingphenomena across the region

Some of these studies have dealt with irregular migration specific tovarious locations for example to Poland (Okoacutelski 2000) Hungary Polandand Ukraine (Laczko and Thompson 2000) the former Yugoslavia (Mavris2002) Turkey (Iccedilduygu and Toktas 2002) or Ukraine (Uehling 2004) Anothergroup of studies have devoted their attention to the ways and means of irregularmigration and have focused on the dynamics and organizational structuresinvolved in human smuggling in Europe generally (Muumlller-Schneider 2000Alt 2001) or for specific nationalities involved (Finckenauer 2001) Others

294 I

M

R

have examined migrant motives (Boswell 2002) the role of migrant networks(Crisp 1999) the socioeconomic profile of irregular migrants (Elwert 2002)or the role of irregular labor markets (Lederer and Nickel 1997) Thereare also a few authors who have set out to develop theoretical perspectivescharacterizing human smuggling generally as a ldquobusinessrdquo (Salt and Stein 1997)or more specifically as a ldquotransnational service industryrdquo (Bilger Hofmann andJandl 2006)

What is largely missing in the literature however is a wider cross-countryperspective on irregular migration in Central and Eastern Europe based onempirical evidence It is this gap that the present article seeks to address Whileirregular migration by its very nature is largely hidden from view it has beenargued that the phenomenon is traceable to some degree in official statisticsand that these can be analyzed for trends (Heckmann 2004) More specificallyit has been demonstrated that a careful analysis of border apprehension datacan reveal much about the main characteristics and trends in illegal bordercrossings in Central and Eastern Europe (Futo and Tass 2002)

The empirical basis for the subsequent analysis is provided by an annualsurvey of statistics and other data related to irregular migration and humansmuggling and trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe which has beenimplemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Developmentin Vienna The survey has collected border apprehension statistics and otherdata from border services and associated national migration institutions inCentral and Eastern Europe since 1997 Over the past few years the survey hasbeen progressively improved and expanded to include more data and countriesThe 2002 2003 and 2004 surveys include detailed data for 18 17 and 20countries respectively In addition to detailed quantitative indicators on irregularmigration and human smuggling many border services regularly provideunique qualitative insights from their operational experience in dealing withirregular migration and human smuggling The following sections will belimited to the main findings and regional trends emanating from the detailedcountry-by-country surveys For further details reference is made to the annualpublication of the Yearbook (Futo and Tass 2003 Futo and Jandl 2004 2005)

Regional Overview

On the basis of the data provided by the border management services andassociated national migration institutions of Central and Eastern Europeancountries over the years the following general picture can be compiled Afterrising throughout the 1990s the total number of border apprehensions in 20

I

M

H

S

EU-E

295

Central and Eastern European countries

3

plus Kosovo peaked at around270000 in the year 2000 Since then there has been a gradual (if uneven)decrease in aggregate border apprehensions to 238000 in 2001 189000 in2002 157000 in 2003 and 145000 in 2004 (see Table 1)

It must be noted that this pronounced decrease in aggregate numbers (by47 over 5 years) was far from uniform In 2004 for example aggregateborder apprehensions for the 20 + 1 decreased by 75 compared to the previ-ous year yet half the countries (ten plus Kosovo) actually registered increasesin border apprehensions while the rest noted decreases While Turkey still

3

These are Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine

TABLE 1NUMBER OF BORDER VIOLATION-RELATED APPREHENSIONS BY PLACE OF APPREHENSION

Place of Apprehension 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

ChangeAbsoluteChange

Armeniaa (1) 253 253 253 130 376 49 123Azerbaijan (2) 5672 7640 8299 3846 2904 minus49 minus2768Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) 741 741 390 957 875 18 134Bulgaria 7192 5962 6451 5133 5948 minus17 minus1244Croatiaa 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590 minus89 minus21590Cyprusa 456 182 725 3726 2559 461 2103Czech Republic 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695 minus67 minus22025Estonia 5 10 51 53 62 1140 57Georgia (1) 107 107 107 114 100 minus7 minus7Hungarya 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103 minus34 minus6614Kosovo

Protectorate of the UN (1) 320 320 320 262 378 18 58Latviaa (2) 11987 7838 9737 19827 10546 minus12 minus1441Lithuaniaa 798 1355 797 803 947 19 149Macedonia (4) 2081 3032 2081 1402 1808 minus13 minus273Polanda 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762 5 262Romaniaa 3495 3598 3084 2133 1496 minus57 minus1999Serbia-Montenegrob 3788 1278 907 862 1053 minus72 minus2735Slovakia 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334 37 2272Slovenia 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680 minus84 minus30234Turkey 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228 minus35 minus33286Ukraine 15909 12558 9600 9602 8493 minus47 minus7416Total 271411 237619 188605 156754 144937 minus47 minus126474

Notes aRevised figures bS-M foreign citizens only(1) Estimates for 2000ndash2002(2) Estimate for 2000(3) Estimate for 2000ndash2001(4) Estimates for 2000 and 2002

Sources ICMPD (2001 2002) Futo and Tass (2003) Futo and Jandl (2004 2005)

296 I

M

R

remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I

M

H

S

EU-E

293

states in South-Eastern Europe or the new European Neighbourhood Policyextending far into Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

Related to this latest fifth round of EU-Enlargement was a renewed fearof increasing flows of irregular migrants through Europersquos ldquoEastern Gaterdquo andof the resulting social and security problems associated with them This articlethen will look at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement inMay 2004 on irregular migration across Central and Eastern Europe Drawingon a unique collection of both quantitative and qualitative data related toirregular migration and human smuggling the article will first give an overviewof some long-term trends in irregular migration in 19 states across the regionbefore taking up more recent developments in 2003 and 2004 In order tounderstand the nature of irregular migration in the region much of which hasby now become transit migration rather than migration originating fromwithin the region the analysis focuses on the source and transit countries ofirregular migrants their demographic characteristics and discernible patternsand trends of their movements Finally we will turn our attention to thosefacilitating illegal border crossings ie the human smugglers and their shiftingmodus operandi in light of their rapidly changing operating environment

IRREGULAR MIGRATION AT EUROPErsquoS EASTERN FRINGES A FRAGMENTED KNOWLEDGE BASE

As systematic research on irregular migration and human smuggling to Europehas only been carried out from the mid-1990s onward the number of studiesthat can help to assemble the ldquolarger picturerdquo of irregular migration in theregion extending both in space and time is still limited Nevertheless giventhe difficulties presented by irregular migration as a subject of research andthe resulting lack of ldquohardrdquo evidence for most aspects of the phenomenoneven studies with a limited geographical or thematic scope have contributedmuch to a better understanding of irregular migration and human smugglingphenomena across the region

Some of these studies have dealt with irregular migration specific tovarious locations for example to Poland (Okoacutelski 2000) Hungary Polandand Ukraine (Laczko and Thompson 2000) the former Yugoslavia (Mavris2002) Turkey (Iccedilduygu and Toktas 2002) or Ukraine (Uehling 2004) Anothergroup of studies have devoted their attention to the ways and means of irregularmigration and have focused on the dynamics and organizational structuresinvolved in human smuggling in Europe generally (Muumlller-Schneider 2000Alt 2001) or for specific nationalities involved (Finckenauer 2001) Others

294 I

M

R

have examined migrant motives (Boswell 2002) the role of migrant networks(Crisp 1999) the socioeconomic profile of irregular migrants (Elwert 2002)or the role of irregular labor markets (Lederer and Nickel 1997) Thereare also a few authors who have set out to develop theoretical perspectivescharacterizing human smuggling generally as a ldquobusinessrdquo (Salt and Stein 1997)or more specifically as a ldquotransnational service industryrdquo (Bilger Hofmann andJandl 2006)

What is largely missing in the literature however is a wider cross-countryperspective on irregular migration in Central and Eastern Europe based onempirical evidence It is this gap that the present article seeks to address Whileirregular migration by its very nature is largely hidden from view it has beenargued that the phenomenon is traceable to some degree in official statisticsand that these can be analyzed for trends (Heckmann 2004) More specificallyit has been demonstrated that a careful analysis of border apprehension datacan reveal much about the main characteristics and trends in illegal bordercrossings in Central and Eastern Europe (Futo and Tass 2002)

The empirical basis for the subsequent analysis is provided by an annualsurvey of statistics and other data related to irregular migration and humansmuggling and trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe which has beenimplemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Developmentin Vienna The survey has collected border apprehension statistics and otherdata from border services and associated national migration institutions inCentral and Eastern Europe since 1997 Over the past few years the survey hasbeen progressively improved and expanded to include more data and countriesThe 2002 2003 and 2004 surveys include detailed data for 18 17 and 20countries respectively In addition to detailed quantitative indicators on irregularmigration and human smuggling many border services regularly provideunique qualitative insights from their operational experience in dealing withirregular migration and human smuggling The following sections will belimited to the main findings and regional trends emanating from the detailedcountry-by-country surveys For further details reference is made to the annualpublication of the Yearbook (Futo and Tass 2003 Futo and Jandl 2004 2005)

Regional Overview

On the basis of the data provided by the border management services andassociated national migration institutions of Central and Eastern Europeancountries over the years the following general picture can be compiled Afterrising throughout the 1990s the total number of border apprehensions in 20

I

M

H

S

EU-E

295

Central and Eastern European countries

3

plus Kosovo peaked at around270000 in the year 2000 Since then there has been a gradual (if uneven)decrease in aggregate border apprehensions to 238000 in 2001 189000 in2002 157000 in 2003 and 145000 in 2004 (see Table 1)

It must be noted that this pronounced decrease in aggregate numbers (by47 over 5 years) was far from uniform In 2004 for example aggregateborder apprehensions for the 20 + 1 decreased by 75 compared to the previ-ous year yet half the countries (ten plus Kosovo) actually registered increasesin border apprehensions while the rest noted decreases While Turkey still

3

These are Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine

TABLE 1NUMBER OF BORDER VIOLATION-RELATED APPREHENSIONS BY PLACE OF APPREHENSION

Place of Apprehension 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

ChangeAbsoluteChange

Armeniaa (1) 253 253 253 130 376 49 123Azerbaijan (2) 5672 7640 8299 3846 2904 minus49 minus2768Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) 741 741 390 957 875 18 134Bulgaria 7192 5962 6451 5133 5948 minus17 minus1244Croatiaa 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590 minus89 minus21590Cyprusa 456 182 725 3726 2559 461 2103Czech Republic 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695 minus67 minus22025Estonia 5 10 51 53 62 1140 57Georgia (1) 107 107 107 114 100 minus7 minus7Hungarya 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103 minus34 minus6614Kosovo

Protectorate of the UN (1) 320 320 320 262 378 18 58Latviaa (2) 11987 7838 9737 19827 10546 minus12 minus1441Lithuaniaa 798 1355 797 803 947 19 149Macedonia (4) 2081 3032 2081 1402 1808 minus13 minus273Polanda 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762 5 262Romaniaa 3495 3598 3084 2133 1496 minus57 minus1999Serbia-Montenegrob 3788 1278 907 862 1053 minus72 minus2735Slovakia 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334 37 2272Slovenia 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680 minus84 minus30234Turkey 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228 minus35 minus33286Ukraine 15909 12558 9600 9602 8493 minus47 minus7416Total 271411 237619 188605 156754 144937 minus47 minus126474

Notes aRevised figures bS-M foreign citizens only(1) Estimates for 2000ndash2002(2) Estimate for 2000(3) Estimate for 2000ndash2001(4) Estimates for 2000 and 2002

Sources ICMPD (2001 2002) Futo and Tass (2003) Futo and Jandl (2004 2005)

296 I

M

R

remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

294 I

M

R

have examined migrant motives (Boswell 2002) the role of migrant networks(Crisp 1999) the socioeconomic profile of irregular migrants (Elwert 2002)or the role of irregular labor markets (Lederer and Nickel 1997) Thereare also a few authors who have set out to develop theoretical perspectivescharacterizing human smuggling generally as a ldquobusinessrdquo (Salt and Stein 1997)or more specifically as a ldquotransnational service industryrdquo (Bilger Hofmann andJandl 2006)

What is largely missing in the literature however is a wider cross-countryperspective on irregular migration in Central and Eastern Europe based onempirical evidence It is this gap that the present article seeks to address Whileirregular migration by its very nature is largely hidden from view it has beenargued that the phenomenon is traceable to some degree in official statisticsand that these can be analyzed for trends (Heckmann 2004) More specificallyit has been demonstrated that a careful analysis of border apprehension datacan reveal much about the main characteristics and trends in illegal bordercrossings in Central and Eastern Europe (Futo and Tass 2002)

The empirical basis for the subsequent analysis is provided by an annualsurvey of statistics and other data related to irregular migration and humansmuggling and trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe which has beenimplemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Developmentin Vienna The survey has collected border apprehension statistics and otherdata from border services and associated national migration institutions inCentral and Eastern Europe since 1997 Over the past few years the survey hasbeen progressively improved and expanded to include more data and countriesThe 2002 2003 and 2004 surveys include detailed data for 18 17 and 20countries respectively In addition to detailed quantitative indicators on irregularmigration and human smuggling many border services regularly provideunique qualitative insights from their operational experience in dealing withirregular migration and human smuggling The following sections will belimited to the main findings and regional trends emanating from the detailedcountry-by-country surveys For further details reference is made to the annualpublication of the Yearbook (Futo and Tass 2003 Futo and Jandl 2004 2005)

Regional Overview

On the basis of the data provided by the border management services andassociated national migration institutions of Central and Eastern Europeancountries over the years the following general picture can be compiled Afterrising throughout the 1990s the total number of border apprehensions in 20

I

M

H

S

EU-E

295

Central and Eastern European countries

3

plus Kosovo peaked at around270000 in the year 2000 Since then there has been a gradual (if uneven)decrease in aggregate border apprehensions to 238000 in 2001 189000 in2002 157000 in 2003 and 145000 in 2004 (see Table 1)

It must be noted that this pronounced decrease in aggregate numbers (by47 over 5 years) was far from uniform In 2004 for example aggregateborder apprehensions for the 20 + 1 decreased by 75 compared to the previ-ous year yet half the countries (ten plus Kosovo) actually registered increasesin border apprehensions while the rest noted decreases While Turkey still

3

These are Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine

TABLE 1NUMBER OF BORDER VIOLATION-RELATED APPREHENSIONS BY PLACE OF APPREHENSION

Place of Apprehension 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

ChangeAbsoluteChange

Armeniaa (1) 253 253 253 130 376 49 123Azerbaijan (2) 5672 7640 8299 3846 2904 minus49 minus2768Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) 741 741 390 957 875 18 134Bulgaria 7192 5962 6451 5133 5948 minus17 minus1244Croatiaa 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590 minus89 minus21590Cyprusa 456 182 725 3726 2559 461 2103Czech Republic 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695 minus67 minus22025Estonia 5 10 51 53 62 1140 57Georgia (1) 107 107 107 114 100 minus7 minus7Hungarya 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103 minus34 minus6614Kosovo

Protectorate of the UN (1) 320 320 320 262 378 18 58Latviaa (2) 11987 7838 9737 19827 10546 minus12 minus1441Lithuaniaa 798 1355 797 803 947 19 149Macedonia (4) 2081 3032 2081 1402 1808 minus13 minus273Polanda 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762 5 262Romaniaa 3495 3598 3084 2133 1496 minus57 minus1999Serbia-Montenegrob 3788 1278 907 862 1053 minus72 minus2735Slovakia 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334 37 2272Slovenia 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680 minus84 minus30234Turkey 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228 minus35 minus33286Ukraine 15909 12558 9600 9602 8493 minus47 minus7416Total 271411 237619 188605 156754 144937 minus47 minus126474

Notes aRevised figures bS-M foreign citizens only(1) Estimates for 2000ndash2002(2) Estimate for 2000(3) Estimate for 2000ndash2001(4) Estimates for 2000 and 2002

Sources ICMPD (2001 2002) Futo and Tass (2003) Futo and Jandl (2004 2005)

296 I

M

R

remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I

M

H

S

EU-E

295

Central and Eastern European countries

3

plus Kosovo peaked at around270000 in the year 2000 Since then there has been a gradual (if uneven)decrease in aggregate border apprehensions to 238000 in 2001 189000 in2002 157000 in 2003 and 145000 in 2004 (see Table 1)

It must be noted that this pronounced decrease in aggregate numbers (by47 over 5 years) was far from uniform In 2004 for example aggregateborder apprehensions for the 20 + 1 decreased by 75 compared to the previ-ous year yet half the countries (ten plus Kosovo) actually registered increasesin border apprehensions while the rest noted decreases While Turkey still

3

These are Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus CzechRepublic Estonia Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine

TABLE 1NUMBER OF BORDER VIOLATION-RELATED APPREHENSIONS BY PLACE OF APPREHENSION

Place of Apprehension 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

ChangeAbsoluteChange

Armeniaa (1) 253 253 253 130 376 49 123Azerbaijan (2) 5672 7640 8299 3846 2904 minus49 minus2768Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) 741 741 390 957 875 18 134Bulgaria 7192 5962 6451 5133 5948 minus17 minus1244Croatiaa 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590 minus89 minus21590Cyprusa 456 182 725 3726 2559 461 2103Czech Republic 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695 minus67 minus22025Estonia 5 10 51 53 62 1140 57Georgia (1) 107 107 107 114 100 minus7 minus7Hungarya 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103 minus34 minus6614Kosovo

Protectorate of the UN (1) 320 320 320 262 378 18 58Latviaa (2) 11987 7838 9737 19827 10546 minus12 minus1441Lithuaniaa 798 1355 797 803 947 19 149Macedonia (4) 2081 3032 2081 1402 1808 minus13 minus273Polanda 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762 5 262Romaniaa 3495 3598 3084 2133 1496 minus57 minus1999Serbia-Montenegrob 3788 1278 907 862 1053 minus72 minus2735Slovakia 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334 37 2272Slovenia 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680 minus84 minus30234Turkey 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228 minus35 minus33286Ukraine 15909 12558 9600 9602 8493 minus47 minus7416Total 271411 237619 188605 156754 144937 minus47 minus126474

Notes aRevised figures bS-M foreign citizens only(1) Estimates for 2000ndash2002(2) Estimate for 2000(3) Estimate for 2000ndash2001(4) Estimates for 2000 and 2002

Sources ICMPD (2001 2002) Futo and Tass (2003) Futo and Jandl (2004 2005)

296 I

M

R

remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

296 I

M

R

remained the country with the highest number of border apprehensionsthroughout the region out of the top ten countries of border apprehensions in2004 six (Hungary Czech Republic Latvia Slovakia Poland and Slovenia)were countries that acceded to the EU in 2004 Over the period 2000ndash2004the 20 countries plus Kosovo registered a total of just under 1 million borderapprehensions Of these the nine countries of the region that acceded to theEU in 2004 made up just over 40

In order to obtain a longer-term perspective on illegal border crossings inCentral and Eastern Europe we were able to compile border apprehension datafor the last ten years for eight European countries Five of these countries arelocated in Central Europe (Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovenia andSlovakia) and three in South-Eastern Europe (Croatia Cyprus and Turkey) Ascan be seen from Table 2 border apprehensions have fallen significantly fromtheir highest levels in all five Central European countries yet the peak of borderapprehensions differs somewhat ndash it was highest in the Czech Republic andHungary in 1998 in Slovenia in 2000 in Slovakia in 2001 and has fallencontinuously in Poland since 1995 Taken together border apprehensions in thefive Central European countries peaked in 2000 at almost 100000 and havemore than halved in the four years since then In Croatia border apprehensionshave also dramatically declined since 2000 to a level last seen in the mid-1990sIn Turkey border apprehensions have also fallen well below their highs butremained very high compared to the other European countries The experienceof Cyprus however has been somewhat different While registering only a fewhundred border apprehensions annually throughout the 1990s the liftingof travel restrictions across the cease-fire line (ldquogreen linerdquo) together with theapproaching accession of the southern part of the island to the EU (which tookplace in May 2004) has resulted in an upsurge of border guard activitiesreflected in a fivefold increase of border apprehensions in 2003 In 2004 howeverthe number of border apprehensions reported by the authorities declined again

Interpretation of the Observed Statistical Trends

What do the observed falling trends in border apprehensions signify and howcan they be interpreted On the one hand there is the plausible possibility thatthe number of migrants who tried to cross borders illegally has really decreasedsignificantly across the region If so this could be attributed to two maincomplex sets of factors

The first set of factors to be taken into account is the improvement inborder control standards that have been instituted throughout the region over

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I

M

H

S

EU

-E

297

TABLE 2N

UMBER

OF

B

ORDER

V

IOLATION

-R

ELATED

A

PPREHENSIONS

BY

P

LACE

OF

A

PPREHENSION

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Czech Republic 19172 23705 29339 44672 32325 32720 23834 14741 13206 10695Hungary

a

16446 13912 15764 22906 19213 19717 16637 15976 12990 13103Poland 11659 10955 10462 7023 5289 5500 6075 4269 5063 5762Slovakia 2786 3329 2821 8236 8050 6062 15548 15235 12493 8334Slovenia (1) 3000 5000 7000 14000 17000 35914 20871 6896 5018 5680

Total CEE 53063 56901 65386 96837 81877 99913 82965 57117 48770 43574

Croatiaa (2) 2000 3200 8303 10556 12340 24180 17416 5861 2915 2590

Cyprusa 122 229 60 52 231 456 182 725 3796 2559

Turkey 11362 18804 28439 29426 47529 94514 92364 82825 56219 61228

Total 66547 79134 102188 136871 141977 219063 192927 146528 111700 109951aRevised figures(1) Estimate for 1995ndash1996 and approximations for 1997ndash1999(2) Estimate for 1995Sources International Police Cooperation Directorate Cyprus Alien and Border Police Service of the Czech Republic Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs Hungarian Office of Immigration

and Nationality Polish Border Guards Slovakian Border Guards Slovenian Border Guards and Turkish Ministry of Interior

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

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Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

298 I M R

the last years as border management agencies have gone to great lengths toimprove their efficiency Together these may well have had the intendeddeterrent effect on irregular migration making it more risky (and expensivefor those who use the services of human smugglers) to cross borders illegally(see also Futo Jandl and Karsakova 2005) The same improvements inborder control standards in Central and Eastern Europe may also have con-tributed to the (geographical) redirection of irregular migration movementsvia the southern borders of Europe and to a shift in the strategies of irregularmigration facilitators to new forms of smuggling and document abuse(see below)

The second set of factors that has likely contributed to the imputeddecline in irregular border crossings is the development in the politicaleconomic and security situations in important countries of origin of irregularmigrants For example in 20022003 the conflict in Afghanistan has slowlystabilized and the number of apprehended Afghanis slowed down sharplyMore surprisingly the 2003 war in Iraq has initially led to lower volumes ofapprehended irregular migrants in Central and Eastern Europe emanatingfrom that country than in the years preceding the invasion (however by 2004numbers were on the rise again)

In addition there are some purely statistical factors that influence therecorded number of border apprehensions For example since 2002 nationalsfrom Romania and Bulgaria have been visa-exempt in the countries of theSchengen area but also in many countries of the region under survey removingthe need for most nationals of these states to cross borders illegally (exceptif facing a personal residency ban or similar restriction) On the other handin order to comply with EU and Schengen Standards several countries of theregion have introduced new visa requirements In 2003 for example Polandintroduced visa obligations for citizens of Belarus Russia and Ukraine andHungary has introduced visa requirements for citizens of Serbia-Montenegroand Ukraine In such cases some of the observed increasesdecreases inborder apprehensions are simply the result of a change in the definition ofldquoillegal border crossingrdquo Moreover in the coming years it is to be expected thatrecorded border apprehension trends will continue to be influenced bymigration and visa policies Romania for example has already started nego-tiations on the introduction of a visa regime for nationals of Ukraine TurkeySerbia-Montenegro and Moldova in order to bring visa policies in line withEU regulations in anticipation of its desired EU accession in 2007

Furthermore the observed decrease in border apprehensions may alsobe the result of new and as yet unknown strategies and tactics of irregular

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

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den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

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ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 299

migrants and human smugglers which may have led to a larger share of illegalborder crossings remaining undetected As will be elaborated below there issome evidence for this latter interpretation as well Basically this type ofexplanation comes in two forms First there is evidence of a significantlyincreasing involvement of human smugglers in irregular migration projectswhich on its own would diminish the chances of detection at the bordersSecond there is also evidence of a continuously changing modus operandi ofsmugglers which is likely to lead to a lower rate of detection at the borders ndashat least temporarily until border management authorities have caught up withthe new developments These issues will be taken up again further below

Directions of Irregular Migration Flows

Looking more closely at disaggregated statistics of border apprehensions percountry reveals a complex map of irregular migration flows This map drawson records of all detected irregular cross-border movements by border sectionsand directions of movements (inout) for each country It quickly becomesapparent when compiling this map that irregular migrants have beenapprehended on almost all border sections in both directions albeit in variousintensities resulting in an almost incomprehensible map of irregular cross-bordermovements throughout the region Therefore it makes sense to simplifysomewhat and look only at the quantitatively most important flows ofapprehended migrants and their directions From this exercise the followinggeneralizations can be made for the region based on data for 2003 and 2004

bull First the main direction of irregular migration flows is still from Easternand South-Eastern to Western Europe

bull Second the picture of recorded irregular migration flows does notconform any longer to clear-cut ldquomigration routesrdquo

bull Third there is no clear-cut pattern emerging from the registered increasesor decreases in border apprehensions across the region If anything theCentral European ldquomigration corridorrdquo (Ukraine-Slovakia-CzechRepublic or alternatively Ukraine-Slovakia-Austria) and the ldquoBalkanrouterdquo (from Turkey over South-Eastern Europe to the European Union)seem to be less frequently used than in previous years

bull Fourth the overall picture is further complicated by the fact that severalcountries of the region have also become major destinations for irregularmigrants themselves besides serving as transit countries for irregularmigrants heading further on

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

300 I M R

bull Fifth a substantial number of registered ldquoillegal border crossingsrdquo takeplace in the form of return migration or readmission of migrants whomay previously have traveled legally and ldquooverstayedrdquo their visas and areapprehended or registered upon their return

bull Sixth mapping irregular migration flows through border apprehensionstatistics is complicated by the fact that an increasing proportion of illegalmigration takes place by way of false or falsified documents often viadirect flights from various destinations

Thus the geographical distribution of irregular migration flows in Centraland Eastern European countries has become more complex over the yearsIrregular migrants and their facilitators constantly develop new routes andways in response to changes in laws visa regulations and stricter enforcementmeasures As a result ldquoclassicalrdquo routes of irregular migration have becomemore blurred and migrants often take wide detours in order to reach theirfinal destinations

Characteristics of Apprehended Migrants

Where did the migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing come fromThis question can be answered for each country individually and for allcountries together for a shorter or longer period Depending on politicaleconomic security and legal developments in source and destinationcountries the countries of origin of irregular migrants have varied between thecountries where they were apprehended and over time Over the last decadethere was a gradual shift away from South-Eastern European source countriesto countries of the former Soviet Union Asia and the Middle East The warsin Afghanistan and Iraq and more recently in Chechnya (Russia) all had aprofound impact on the changing distribution over time Looking only at thelast two years the most important source countries of migrants apprehendedat the borders of 19 Central and Eastern European countries were MoldovaPakistan Russia Ukraine and Iraq (Figure I)4

4Based on the apprehension reports of the following 19 Central and Eastern European countriesresponding to the survey Armenia Azerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia CyprusCzech Republic Georgia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Poland Romania Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Turkey and Ukraine The table was computed on the basis ofthe statistical tables entitled ldquoNumber of border violators by country of originrdquo submitted by theresponding states Own nationals apprehended for illegal border crossing are included

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 301

While three out of the top five countries of origin were countries of theformer Soviet Union the numbers of border violators originating from bothMoldova and Russia have decreased substantially while those from Pakistanand Iraq have increased sharply On the other hand further down the listborder apprehensions of citizens of China Turkey and India have decreasedsignificantly in 2004 The share of Africa and of other regions is not significantin this context with the notable exception of the growing number of appre-hended Somali citizens (2825 apprehensions in 2004 after 1905 in 2003)

Having looked at countries of origin we will now take a look at thegender composition of migrants apprehended for illegal border crossing incountries of the region Like many industrialized countries statistics of theborder management organizations in Central and Eastern Europe demonstratethat most apprehended irregular migrants are (still) single male individuals intheir best working years (between 20 and 40 years old) In 2004 approximatelyone-fifth of the apprehended irregular migrants were female This proportionhad increased in the previous years and stagnated in 2004 (Table 3)

Comparing the share of women with the main countries of origin invarious states indicates that when people flee the consequences of civil warsand lack any hope in the stabilization of their home countries they are morelikely to arrive with their families A recent example is the arrival of Chechen

Figure I Top 5 Source Countries of Migrants Apprehended for Illegal Border Crossing in 19 CEE States in 2003 and 2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

302 I M R

nationals with many large families into Western Europe through CEE coun-tries This is especially valid for Hungary and the Czech Republic where manyillegal entrants have filed an asylum application immediately after crossing theborder (instead of remaining clandestine) in the hope of obtaining asylum orat least temporary shelter

In such cases migrants also often take their children with them The shareof minors within the overall number of irregular migrants depends on variousfactors This indicator tends to be higher in those countries where (a) labormigration is relatively low and (b) relatively many long-distance migrantsdecide to interrupt their clandestine journey and approach the authorities forshelter and asylum It is for the above reasons that the number of registeredchildren is relatively higher and still increasing in the Czech Republic andin Slovenia Across countries for which data are available about one in tenapprehended migrants was a minor in 2004 (Table 4)

Apprehensions of Human Smugglers

Migration authorities and border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope are convinced that today the majority of migrants illegally crossingtheir borders use the help of human smugglers For example in 2003 theHungarian border guard noted that while in the middle of the 1990s onlyabout 20 to 25 of illegal entrants were assisted in illegal border crossings byhuman smugglers by 2003 this proportion already exceeded 70 (Futo andJandl 200478) And while in 2004 the overall number of border apprehensions

TABLE 3IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Women ()

2002 2003 2004

Azerbaijan 15 15 1946Bosnia-Herzegovina 103 261 naBulgaria 2953 2314 2411Croatia na 129 1196Cyprus 566 368 254Czech Republic 2247 2719 3368Estonia na 3019 3065Hungary 1429 2493 2858Serbia-Montenegro na na 584Slovenia na 1256 1107Ukraine 1739 1705 148

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 303

further declined in ten out of 20 states the number of human smugglerscaught increased in nine out of 14 states for which data are available In totalthe number of apprehended human smugglers increased from 3737 in 2003to 4307 in 2004 in these 14 states an increase of 15 (Table 5)

There are three possible explanations for this observed trend all of whichare likely to be at work simultaneously

TABLE 4IRREGULAR MIGRANTS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING IN SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country of Apprehension

Share of Minors ()

2002 2003 2004

Armenia na 1613 784Azerbaijan na 054 109Bosnia-Herzegovina 359 225 213Bulgaria 546 457 797Croatia na 714 1229Cyprus 524 5 143Czech Republic 713 1148 1469Estonia na 1167 746Serbia-Montenegro na na 9Slovenia na 733 1034Ukraine 232 273 293

Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

TABLE 5NUMBER OF HUMAN SMUGGLERS APPREHENDED IN SELECTED COUNTRIESa

2002 2003 2004

Armenia 6 12Azerbaijan 8 11 6Bosnia-Herzegovina 51 84Bulgaria 126 131 166Croatia 237 156 223Czech Republic 584 680Estonia 8 4Hungary 496 519 660Lithuania 6 30 26Poland 172 221 500Slovakia 228 198 322Slovenia 744 606Turkey 1157 937 956Ukraine 194 147 74Total (14 states) na 3737 4307aIncluding foreigners and citizens of own country Source Futo and Jandl (2005)

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

304 I M R

bull First the proportion of irregular migrants using the services of humansmugglers has increased faster than the decline in the overall number ofborder apprehensions

bull Second modern border guard techniques and new modes of policing(eg in the vicinity of borders and within the country) have increased theefficiency of border guards and police authorities resulting in highersuccess rates in the detection and apprehension of human smugglers

bull Third a shift in the modus operandi of human smugglers has led to alower ratio of smuggled migrants transported per human smugglerthereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

It is to this last point that we will turn in the following section

Modes of Illegal Border Crossing

In general irregular migrants and their facilitators use a wide variety of waysfor illegally crossing state borders However statistics on apprehensions atvarious border types (disaggregated as follows road border crossings railborder crossings at airports green borders sea borders in the country and atother places) indeed show a shift in the preferred modes of illegal bordercrossings away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward official(road) border posts

Thus despite the general trend of fewer border apprehensions over thepast three years particularly at green borders several states have recorded anoticeable increase in the use of official road border posts for illegal crossingsIn these cases more individuals and groups attempted to avoid border controlsby concealing or hiding themselves in vehicles traveling in legal cross-bordertraffic or by using falsified documents or documents of another person Thishas been the case particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Hungaryand Poland Looking at the broader region (all nine countries5 for whichcomplete data are available for the years 2002ndash2004) there thus appears to bea clear trend away from illegal crossings at the green border and toward illegalcrossings at official state borders (see Figure II)

5The figure is based on detailed border apprehension data for the following nine countriesAzerbaijan Bosnia-Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary LithuaniaPoland and Romania For the Czech Republic Poland and Romania road border crossingsinclude rail border crossings

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 305

It is likely that this observed shift in border apprehensions is due to achanged modus operandi of human smugglers Fewer migrants are smuggledin large groups across green borders instead more migrants are smuggledthrough official border crossing points hidden in vehicles or through the useof false or falsified documents This change in strategy then also implies thenecessity of accompanying clandestine migrants (hidden in trucks or containersetc) thereby raising the ratio of apprehended human smugglers to smuggledmigrants

Moreover it appears that the aggregate shift in the modes of illegal bordercrossing toward official border posts is most pronounced in the CentralEuropean countries which have recently acceded to the EU

bull In the Czech Republic groups of smuggled people have become smallerin comparison to previous years and there has been an increase in thenumber of persons detected in the luggage compartment of private vehicles

bull In Hungary organized attempts of illegal border crossing have beenrelocated to border sections with larger cross-border traffic wheremigrants attempt crossings in small groups of two or three using false orforged official documents Larger groups of irregular migrants crossingthe green border on foot are not as common as in previous years SinceMay 1 2004 there has been a 36 increase in detected irregularmigrants hidden in vehicles at the Austrian (external Schengen) border

Figure II Place of Border Apprehensions in Nine Countries 2002ndash2004

Source Futo and Jandl 2005

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

306 I M R

bull In Poland the number of irregular migrants detected at official bordercrossing points has increased remarkably especially with the use ofcounterfeit documents and visas or hidden in a car or truck (eg hiddenbehind the seat or in the driverrsquos cabin) Because of the detailed controlsof vehicles crossing the external border this method was used mainly atthe internal EU border with Germany

bull In Slovakia there was a large increase in detected cases of irregular migrantshidden in trains or vehicles (896 apprehensions in 2004 compared toonly 212 in 2003) The method used most often was hiding in the sheltersof passenger or freight trains going from Slovakia to Austria

However this growing tendency toward illegal border crossing throughborder checkpoints was not restricted to current EU Member States and wasalso observed in other countries (eg Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria)

False or Falsified Documents

During the last few years border authorities across Central and Eastern Europehave recorded a noticeable increase in detected counterfeit and falsifiedtraveling documents By far the most commonly used method across countriesappears to be the use of another personrsquos passport falsified by an exchange ofthe photograph This can be done by removing the protective film from thepage containing personal information replacing the photo and sticking thetransparent film back in its place Other typical ways of falsifying passports arecorrecting the expiry date forging visa stamps or chemically removing bordercrossing stamps

The use of falsified passports of new Member States of the EU seems tobe especially prevalent After the 2004 enlargement of the EU border crossingprocedures for the citizens of new EU Member States were simplified andborder guards have faced an increasing challenge in identifying false documentsIn many cases border guards do not check the data of EU citizens and theirdocuments in the (electronic) databases making it more difficult for them todetain persons wanted by law enforcement institutions for various offenses orpersons traveling with invalid stolen or lost documents Exploiting theseloopholes human smugglers are increasingly targeting travel documents fromthe new EU Member States for alteration and use in the smuggling of irregularmigrants On the other hand when third-country passports are used they mostoften include an original Schengen visa or belong to nationals of countries thatare visa-exempted

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 307

Besides passports a great number of other document types are forged orfalsified for use in irregular border crossings such as identity cards residencepermits border stamps visas registration certificates driving licenses ldquogreenrdquoinsurance cards false documents of diplomats forged Refugee TravelDocuments issued by European countries and others Besides documentswith replaced photographs these documents appear as complete forgeriesdocuments with erased or altered text with replaced or torn-out pages asdocuments of another person or as stolen documents A growing number ofcases involving forged documents concern migrants who have already beenrejected for a certain period of time from the EU

The following information on increasing document abuse has beenreported by new EU Member States

bull In the Czech Republic in 2004 authorities detected 712 persons crossingstate borders illegally with the use of irregular travel documents (+23compared to 2003) The majority of cases concerned citizens of Ukraine(333 persons) and Moldova (104 persons)

bull In Hungary border authorities reveal around 2000ndash2500 cases of forgeddocuments annually In 2004 however the number of revealed cases(3181) showed an 18 increase compared to the previous year (after a 42increase in 2002) At Austrian Slovenian Romanian and Ukrainianborders the number of detected cases has risen by 22 The number ofdetected forged identity cards multiplied by more than eight Since thesecond half of 2004 the number of Ukrainian citizens with forged Italianresidence permits has grown significantly (from 633 in 2003 to 1255 or40 of all cases in 2004)

bull In Slovakia a total number of 680 cases of document fraud have beenregistered of which 357 were counterfeit or falsified identity documentsmainly passports and identity cards used by citizens of Moldova andpartially also Ukraine Of the total 407 cases concerned the exchangingof photos followed by 93 cases of page exchange in travel documents 61cases of the use of travel documents by another person and 52 cases ofdata overwriting in the document

Making this general trend toward increasing document abuse even morenotable it appears that the methods of counterfeiting and falsifying havefurther improved in quality A stable tendency to improve the techniques ofdocument falsification (for example by chemical and mechanical deletions orby splitting of pages in passports for falsification) has been observed as a result

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

308 I M R

of which ndash if the trend continues unabated ndash the identification of falsedocuments will become even more difficult

At the same time older types of travel documents with lower security fea-tures are also often misused (eg old-pattern citizen passports of countries ofthe former Soviet Union especially from the three Baltic states now part of theEU) In those cases it is very difficult to detect misuse especially the exchangeof photographs

Recent Changes in the Strategies of Irregular Migrants and Their Facilitators

In addition to these two pronounced shifts in the modus operandi of humansmugglers which are at least indirectly related to the 2004 EU Enlargementthere has been one more important development that has directly influencedthe migration strategies of irregular migrants and their facilitators

Since May 2004 when ten new Member States joined the EU theso-called Dublin Convention backed up by the EURODAC fingerprintdatabase has been in force in these countries too According to this Con-vention an asylum seeker claiming asylum in several EU Member States alonghisher journey can be returned from the border where shehe is apprehendedback to the EU country of hisher first asylum application Given the stronglinkages that exist between irregular migration human smuggling and theasylum system in Central Europe therefore it was to be expected that thewidespread application of the EURODAC system in Central Europeancountries would have a noticeable effect on irregular migration processes( Jandl 2004) Indeed after May 2004 the number of persons who first crossedborders clandestinely and then deliberately approached the authorities in orderto apply for asylum declined For example in the Czech Republic the numberof Chechen people claiming asylum has decreased while an increasing numberof migrants have attempted to cross the country without getting into contactwith the authorities in their attempts to reach Austria (previously a large shareof Chechens applied for asylum along their journey in several countries suchas Poland the Czech Republic and Austria) Qualitative research on humansmuggling in Central Europe has shown that many smuggled migrants areoften given detailed instructions by their smugglers on how to use the asy-lum system as part of their migration strategy (Bilger Hofmann and Jandl2006) thus it can be assumed that smugglers have turned to recommendstaying away from the authorities

Besides the described changes in the technical operations of humansmugglers as a reaction to changes brought about by the most recent EU

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 309

enlargement and more efficient border enforcement measures there are alsoother changes in migration regimes that can lead to a change in strategies andeven operational areas of human smugglers A few examples should illustratethis point

bull The lack of a visa policy in Kosovo since 1999 has prompted a significantnumber of irregular migrants to enter Europe directly via Pristina airport(Kosovo)

bull Since Bosnia-Herzegovina introduced a visa requirement for Iraniancitizens in December 2000 and a stricter regime of entry for Turkishcitizens through the airport in Sarajevo an increasing number ofirregular migrants from these countries have used other routes to WesternEuropean destinations

bull In Serbia the application of a stricter visa regime for Chinese citizenssince 2001 together with the discontinuance of direct flights Belgrade-Peking has quickly led irregular Chinese migrants to use alternative entrypoints to Europe

bull Since 2002 irregular migration from Albania to Italy through theAdriatic Sea has been made increasingly difficult due to joint efforts ofAlbanian and Italian authorities and due to the operation of the Inter-national Anti-trafficking Center at the Albanian port of Vlora Conse-quently an increasing flow of irregular migrants has been directed to theland route via Kosovo Serbia and further on to Western Europe

bull In Cyprus the lifting of travel restrictions across the cease-fire line has ledto a surge of irregular migrants entering the southern (Greek-Cypriotcontrolled) part from the northern (Turkish-Cypriot controlled) part ofthe island since 2003

As these examples demonstrate in a rapidly changing institutionalenvironment patterns of irregular migration and human smuggling are inconstant flux Besides adapting their modus operandi human smugglers arealso induced to change their operating routes and transit countries for smuggledmigrants in response to new migration or asylum regulations and to changesin visa regimes

TOWARD A COMMON MARKET FOR HUMAN SMUGGLERS

Drawing on the experience of border guard officials across Central and EasternEurope it appears that the basic features of human smuggling have become

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

310 I M R

very similar across the region adding further credibility to the theory thathuman smuggling today can be understood as a dynamic transnationalservice industry that stretches over many countries and borders (BilgerHofmann and Jandl 2006) For example today smugglers across the regionmake extensive use of modern communication equipment Communication ismaintained among others through cellular phones which are purchasedespecially for this purpose and are regularly exchanged The whole processof transport from the rear regions to the border harboring and transferof migrants from one smuggler to another is co-ordinated in cell phoneconversations After the operation SIM cards are exchanged among individualsthus blurring traces Increasing use is also made of the Internet as a meansof communication

Depending on the types of services offered and the types of functionsperformed smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation purchaseapartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants obtain informationtechnology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possiblecounterfeit passports or spend large sums on bribes For transport smugglersoften use rented cars or taxis vans minibuses trucks cargo space containersor refrigerator semi trailers motorboats and other means of transport Alongthe borders smugglers extensively use night vision devices surveillancetechnologies and radiophones Forgers continuously update their equipmentfor forging passports and visas and other documents of different countriesModern computer technology is used to improve the quality of documentfalsifications

An important element in the calculations of illegal migration facilitatorsis the degree of risk associated with particular modes of operations As notedabove the year 2004 saw an increase in general (legal) cross-border trafficwhich human smugglers can exploit for their purposes After EU enlargementcustoms controls have been abolished at internal borders and waiting timeshave decreased Citizens of new and old EU countries can travel with the use ofID cards instead of only passports At many border crossing points (especiallyEU-internal but also at EU-external borders) a ldquoone stoprdquo control system hasbeen introduced Control procedures are carried out by border authorities ofonly one of two neighboring states thus facilitating the crossing of bordersespecially for citizens of the EU As a result the border crossing of persons andvehicles has gathered speed the time of inspection has shortened and trafficcongestion has been reduced

However with the simplification of control procedures the frequency ofusing vehicles for smuggling migrants has grown as well Migrants use vehicles

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 311

with EU Member State number plates and forged or falsified EU traveldocuments for illegally crossing borders In addition illegal border crossings inpassenger trains buses and other types of public transportation are carried outin periods when large masses of regular travelers make detailed controls anddocument checks more difficult

CONCLUSION IRREGULAR MIGRATION HUMAN SMUGGLING AND EU-ENLARGEMENT

This article has looked at the consequences of the latest round of EU-Enlargement in May 2004 on irregular migration trends across Central andEastern Europe The annual survey on Illegal Migration Human Smugglingand Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe carried out by ICMPD inVienna provides a unique opportunity to do so by collecting statistics andinformation from border guards and migration authorities in a standardizedformat The region surveyed constitutes a continuous belt from the northeasternto the southeastern part of Europe and is thus broadly representative ofirregular (transit) migration in Central and Eastern Europe

The compiled data clearly show that the direction of irregular migrationmovements is generally from east to west Although the overall trends of borderapprehensions have declined significantly since about the turn of the centurythere is ample evidence for an increasing role of human smugglers in facilitatingirregular migration Their flexibility in responding to changed circumstancessuch as those brought about by the enlargement of the EU testifies to the abilityof human smugglers to respond to new challenges and opportunities

Besides enriching our understanding of irregular migration and humansmuggling in Central and Eastern Europe the compiled data also point to twonew trends in human smuggling The first is the increase in the use of officialroad borders for illegal crossings As explained above an increasing number ofsmuggling cases have been detected where smugglers were using trucks andcargo spaces for transporting smuggled migrants in concealed spaces Suchoperations are either carried out in busy cross-border traffic or on foggy daysand at dawn ndash conditions hindering efficient inspections by use of thermo-visual equipment or carbon dioxide detectors At the same time this strategymay also be a reaction to a higher risk of detection at or near the green borderswhere irregular migrants can be detected in shelters or at collection pointsInstead driving the migrants directly to the border and smuggling themthrough thus reducing the time spent in the country helps to reduce risks andcosts and cuts out local helpers

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

312 I M R

A second trend also linked to the higher share of detections at officialroad borders is the increasing use of false or falsified travel documents Amultiplication of cases involving smuggled migrants carrying false officialdocuments of the ten new European Union Member States has been observedparticularly since May 2004 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather lowrisk factor as the detainment of the forger is typically difficult and lengthy dueto the high level of conspiracy involved The chances of apprehending the usersof forged documents are reduced by the fact that forgers are using increasinglymodern equipment and methods in the forging of travel documents visas andresidence permits

Finally the question should be posed how authorities in Central andEastern European countries could more effectively address irregular migrationand human smuggling to and through their countries and within the regionHere possible intervention strategies can be directed at the demand supplyand intermediary (enforcement) sides

Taking enforcement first the upgrading and modernization of bordercontrol systems of many countries in the region is proceeding but still far fromcomplete This involves everything from demarcation and policing of greenborders to the introduction of modern surveillance and detection equipment atofficial border posts More important than upgrading controls at the bordershowever are measures directed at ldquodeeprdquo investigations against smugglersranging from the harmonization and sharpening of penal law against smugglersto cross-border investigations and the tackling of corruption Moreoverupgrading document security and introducing biometric identifiers in traveldocuments will go some way toward combating document forgery

As for the demand side it should be noted that more and more states inthe region are gradually becoming destinations for irregular migrant workersthemselves This calls for the introduction of comprehensive immigrationpolicies in states that have in their recent past experienced mainly emigrationand have simply felt no need for elaborate reception policies This may involveboth the creation of opportunities for orderly immigration channels linked tosectors with high labor demand as well as the introduction and enforcement ofsanctions for employers of irregular migrants On the supply side things aremore difficult Enhanced cooperation with source countries and other transitcountries will be key in influencing future migration pressures and Central andEastern European countries can certainly play an important role here in thewider Eurasian region Effective readmission agreements both with source anddestination countries can also help to influence overly optimistic expectationsof potential irregular migrants On the other hand policies aiming at reducing

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 313

the potential for irregular migration through the fostering of political stabilityhuman security growth and income opportunities in source countries canonly be effective in the long run and require collective efforts of the richer statesThus states should be prepared that despite currently declining borderapprehension trends across the region the issue of irregular migration will notgo away anytime soon

REFERENCES

Alt J2001 ldquoMotive und Mechanismen Illegaler Migration ndash Gemeinsamkeit und Unterschiede in

den Erkenntnissen empirischer Feldforschung bzw der Polizei-und SicherheitsdiensterdquoLecture given at the Expert Conference ldquoIllegal in Germanyrdquo Erfurt May 16ndash17

Bilger V M Hofmann and M Jandl2006 ldquoHuman Smuggling as a Transnational Service Industry Evidence from Austriardquo Inter-

national Migration 44(4)59ndash93

Boswell C2002 Addressing the Root Causes of Migratory and Refugee Movements The Role of the European

Union Working Paper no 73 Geneva Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

Crisp J1999 Policy Challenges of the New Diasporas Migrant Networks and Their Impact on Asylum Flows

and Regimes WPTC-99-05 Geneva Policy Research Unit UNHCR

Elwert G2002 ldquoUnternehmerische Illegale Ziele und Organisationen eines unterschaumltzten Typs illegaler

Einwandererrdquo IMIS Beitraumlge Heft 192002 University of Osnabruumlck

Finckenauer J O2001 ldquoRussian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Traffickingrdquo In Global Human

Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle and R Koslowski Baltimore JohnsHopkins University Press Pp 166ndash186

Futo P and M Jandl ed2005 2004 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and

Eastern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 22 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2004 2003 Year Book on Illegal Migration Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and East-

ern Europe A Survey and Analysis of Border Apprehension Data from 19 States ViennaInternational Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash M Jandl and L Karsakova2005 ldquoA Survey of Illegal Migration and Human Smuggling in Central and Eastern Europerdquo

Migracijske I Etnicke TemeMigration and Ethnic Studies 21(1ndash2)35ndash54

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass ed2003 2002 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

314 I M R

mdashmdashmdash and T Tass2002 ldquoBorder Apprehension Statistics of Central and Eastern Europe A Resource for Measur-

ing Illegal Migrationrdquo In New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and EasternEurope Ed F Laczko I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels The Hague TMCAsser Press Pp 85ndash116

Heckmann F2004 ldquoIllegal Migration What Can We Know and What Can We Explain The Case of Ger-

manyrdquo International Migration Review 38(3)1103ndash1125

mdashmdashmdash and T Wunderlich2000 ldquoTransatlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling A Conference Reportrdquo Georgetown

Immigration Law Journal 15167ndash182

Iccedilduygu A and S Toktas2002 ldquoHow Do Smuggling and Trafficking Operate via Irregular Border Crossings in the

Middle East Evidence from Fieldwork in Turkeyrdquo International Migration 40(6)25ndash54

International Centre for Migration Policy Development2002 2001 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

mdashmdashmdash2001 2000 Year Book on Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe Vienna

International Centre for Migration Policy Development

Jandl M2005 ldquoThe Development-Visa Scheme A Proposal for a Market-based Migration Control

Policyrdquo Global Migration Perspectives 36 Geneva International Centre for Migration PolicyDevelopment lthttpwwwgcimorgattachementsGMP20No2036pdfgt

mdashmdashmdash2004 ldquoThe Relationship between Human Smuggling and the Asylum System in Austriardquo

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) 30(4)799ndash806

Koser K2001 ldquoThe Smuggling of Asylum Seekers to Western Europe Contradictions Conundrums

and Dilemmasrdquo In Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Ed D Kyle andR Koslowski Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press Pp 58ndash73

Kyle D and R Koslowski ed2001 Global Human Smuggling Comparative Perspectives Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press

Laczko F I Stacher and A Klekowski von Koppenfels2002 New Challenges for Migration Policy in Central and Eastern Europe The Hague TMC

Asser Press Pp 85ndash116

mdashmdashmdash and D Thompson ed2000 Migrant Trafficking and Human Smuggling in Europe A Review of the Evidence with Case Studies

from Hungary Poland and Ukraine Geneva International Organisation for Migration

Lederer H W and A Nickel1997 ldquoIllegale Auslaumlnderbeschaumlftigung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlandrdquo Bonn FES

Library lthttplibraryfesdefulltextasfo00763tochtmgt

Mavris L2002 ldquoHuman Smugglers and Social Networks Transit Migration through the States of Former

Yugoslaviardquo New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 72 Geneva Evaluationand Policy Analysis Unit UNHCR

I M H S EU-E 315

Morrison J and B Crossland2001 ldquoThe Trafficking and Smuggling of Refugees The End Game in European Asylum Policyrdquo

New Issues in Refugee Research Working paper No 39 Geneva UNHCR lthttpwwwunhcrorgresearchRESEARCH3af66c9b4pdfgt

Muumlller-Schneider T2001 ldquoEinschleusung von Migranten Ein neues Massenphaumlnomen weltweiter Wanderungrdquo

Berliner Journal fuumlr Soziologie 11359ndash374

mdashmdashmdash2000 ldquoExplaining Human Smuggling A Sociological Approachrdquo Paper submitted to the Trans-

atlantic Workshop on Human Smuggling Tutzing

Okoacutelski M2000 ldquoIllegality of International Population Movements in Polandrdquo International Migration

Special Issue 12000 ldquoPerspectives on Trafficking of Migrantsrdquo 38(3)57ndash89

Salt J and J Stein1997 ldquoMigration as a Business The Case of Traffickingrdquo International Migration 35(4)467ndash

494

Uehling G2004 ldquoIrregular and Illegal Migration through Ukrainerdquo International Migration 42(3)77ndash

109