Soon after we arrived at the U.S. embassy in Quito, Ecuador, as the new Navy and Coast Guard attaches, we discovered we had grown up about 60 miles from one another in the plains of western Oklahoma. While swapping shore stories one day, we were reminded of a vivid childhood memory—the coyote hunters. Western Oklahoma cattle ranchers understood well the menace that coyotes represented to their herds, and usually welcomed the services of itinerant coyote hunters and their coterie of greyhounds.
Here in South America, "coyote" has at least one other important meaning. Coyote is taken from the Spanish "coyotismo," which is the local term attached to illegal alien smuggling.
Remarkably, 30 years later, and thousands of miles from the plains of western Oklahoma, we have found ourselves in the midst of another coyote hunt, but this one has at least two important differences: the coyotes of South America are not solo creatures; and the grey-hounds—or, in this case, the grey hulls—are nowhere to be found.
The United States is in the midst of receiving the largest mass migration of illegal aliens by maritime means in modern history. Since 2000 alone, an estimated 234,000-350,000 Ecuadorians have attempted to leave their country by maritime means with the intent of entering the United States illegally. These astonishing numbers are several times the number of migrants in the more familiar Cuban Mariel boat lift of 1980 and more than ten times the mass migration from Haiti in the early 1990s.
There are four aspects of the mass maritime migration from Ecuador that make it unique. First and most important, it has been going on for at least three years, continues unabated, and likely will increase. Second, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have no assets dedicated to this mission. Third, the vast majority of Ecuadorians are traveling by maritime means, their movement coordinated and executed by international criminal organizations exploiting the migrants and taking advantage of the fact there is virtually no maritime deterrent. Finally, there is little or no media coverage of this migration, unlike its Cuban and Haitian counterparts.
Just how big is the problem? The government of Ecuador estimates that more than two million of its former citizens now live abroad. Officials claim there are more than 150,000 Ecuadorians living and working in New York City, 100,000 in Chicago, and more than one million total throughout the United States. The government in Quito estimates that approximately 80% of the Ecuadorians in the United States are there illegally.
Although the Ecuadorian government acknowledges the loss of its citizenry, it seems reluctant to take effective actions to stop the exodus. On 9 January 2003, then-President-elect Lucio Gutierrez convened a national dialogue on the problem of mass migration from Ecuador. Unfortunately, this dialogue focused only on protecting the rights of the migrants working illegally in other countries. Several noted migration experts confirmed that money remitted from illegal workers overseas, $1.5 billion in 2002 alone, is second only to Ecuador's petroleum industry as a source of income for Ecuador. For a country mired in economic difficulties this is serious money, and is a strong deterrent to grass-roots efforts to pass effective legislation against illegal migration.
This problem appears to be getting worse. In 2002, undocumented Ecuadorian migrants surpassed Haitians, Cubans, Chinese, and others as the nationality most frequently encountered during maritime interdiction by U.S. forces. This is especially significant in that U.S. maritime forces never have conducted alien migration interdiction operations targeted specifically at Ecuador. It is estimated that more than 2,500 Ecuadorian migrants are attempting illegal exit from their country each week. Most of them reach their intermediate destinations in Central America by sea, continuing their journeys across land to the U.S. border.
This mass migration has the potential to be a direct and immediate threat to U.S. national security. Once a smuggling route is established, its use will go to the highest bidder, whether it be for drugs, illegal arms, contraband, or aliens—a fact not likely to be lost on a would-be terrorist. In the past two years, authorities have interdicted numerous illegal aliens from several Far and Middle Eastern countries, including China and Iraq, who were being smuggled from or through Ecuador to the United States.
The reasons for the lack of a Coast Guard and Navy response are many. Policy makers and budgeteers understand neither the magnitude of the problem nor its long-term implications. Because of this, they are reluctant to define a clear mission requirement and allocate assets and money to the problem. The Coast Guard, though tasked with the mission, has not been given adequate resources to perform it for other than short periods against specific localized threats (i.e., when migrations reach "Level III," or 3,000-5,000 migrants a week). And the Navy, which is not given the mission directly but does have significantly more assets, does not plan for or attempt to consult or assist with migrant interdictions in any substantial way. Navy assets assigned to these waters invariably are focused on counterdrug operations.
Complete solutions to these problems will not come easily, but some answers still can be found. First, the State Department must fully engage the governments in South America and convince them it is in their own best interests to discourage illegal migration, preferably with incentives to stay, but by penalty of law if necessary. Second, national-level policy and decision makers must recognize the gravity of this problem and its implications. Third, the Ecuadorian Navy must take an active role in solving its own problems. As a starting point, we need to give Ecuador and other South American nations priority in the foreign military acquisition and sales programs, and provide them direct aid and training for this mission.
Until these measures take effect, the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy must put some dedicated full-time resources on the problem. We are not suggesting that this mission take all of the assets in the area, but does it sound right that it should get none?
Captain Wichert is a 24-year Navy veteran and former commanding officer of the Alabama (SSBN-731). He has been naval attaché to Ecuador since September 2002. Lieutenant Commander Trevett has served in the Navy and Naval Reserve as an explosive ordnance disposal diver. He graduated from Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in 1992. He is dual accredited as the first Coast Guard attaché to Ecuador and Bolivia.