Cartels Expected To Exploit Election Shifts To Lure Migrants

Cartels may exploit recent midterm election results to ramp up migrant smuggling efforts.

Federal law enforcement officials warn that designated foreign terrorist cartels in Mexico will likely exploit recent midterm election gains by Democrats to convince migrants to pay for illegal entry into the United States. Following widespread victories in national and state races, Republican supporters expressed deep concern over the future of ongoing immigration enforcement efforts at the southern border.

• The concernFederal law enforcement warns that criminal networks will twist political shifts into false promises of relaxed border security.
• The contextThe administration has classified major Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations to ramp up pressure against human smuggling networks.