Killing Linked To Alien Smuggling

In May, someone was fatally shot in Houston after an argument. Police now believe that the cause of the argument was over how much one person had to pay an alien smuggler. The police called to the scene found one person fatally shot several times and three immigrants who said they had been kept against their will.

Witnesses told police the shooting happened as two men argued over payments for bringing the illegal immigrants into the country. The gunman fled the scene in a green Dodge Ram pickup, police said.

According to the Houston Chronicle article, in July a man who was the brother of someone smuggled for $1,500 was killed after he balked at a demand for $300 on top of the agreed-upon price.

The area of alien smuggling is dangerous and it would be wise from a public policy standpoint for the police to help enforce the criminal laws by encouraging cooperation from victims and those who receive threats to pay the smugglers. It would not make sense from a public policy standpoint to punish victims by turning them in for civil immigration violations if they are out of status at the time they call the police for help.