Between September 2008 and February 2009, an estimated 10,000 migrants who were attempting to cross the border into the United States were kidnapped and held for ransom.

Source:  Sara Miller Llana, “Mexico mass grave highlights abuse of migrants heading to US,” Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 2010.

Human smugglers charge migrants $5,000 to be smuggled into the United States by sea.

More and more migrants are attempting to enter the US due to increase enforcement on the border between the US and Mexico.

Source:  AP, “Migrants turn to the sea to enter US illegally,” Google News, August 26, 2010.

From October 2009 to August 2010, US Border Enforcement agents apprehended 753 migrants attempting to enter the United States by sea.

In the same time period om 2008 to 2009, 400 migrants were caught. In 2007 to 2008, 230 migrants were apprehended.

Source:  AP, “Migrants turn to the sea to enter US illegally,” Google News, August 26, 2010.

The human smuggling market at the US-Mexico border is estimated to generate $6.6 Billion a year for the smugglers.

US authorities have never seized more than $17 Million a year in assets of the human smugglers.

Source:  Lise Olsen and Dudley Althaus, “Lawmakers told border crime getting out of hand,” July 22, 2010.

Between 1998 to 2008, there was a 400 percent increase in hospital admissions for prescription drugs abuse in the United States.

Source: Gloria Goodale, “Prescription drug abuse surged 400 percent in past decade,” Christian Science Monitor, July 15, 2010.

In the 1990s, human smugglers in Mexico charged people a few hundred dollars to be smuggled across the border into the United States.

Due to increase security, by 2010 the fee increased to $3,000.

Source: Susan Carrroll, “Human smugglers showing violent upswing, ICE says,” Houston Chronicle, July 5, 2010.

In Fiscal Year 2009, authorities caught 130 minors attempting to smuggled drugs into Arizona from Mexico, an increase of 83 percent from Fiscal Year 2008.

Source:  Dennis Wagner, “Cartels use kids to bring in drugs,” Arizona Republic, July 5, 2010.

The United States Secret Service removed over $182 Million of fake US dollars in Fiscal Year 2009, an increase over the $103 million seized in FY 2008.

Source:  Cyndia Zwahlen, “Fake money a growing problem for small businesses,” Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2010.

An estimated $29 Billion a year of cash from drug sales is smuggled into Mexico each year to the drug cartels.

If the $29 Billion were in 100 bills, the total weight of the cash smuggled would be 319 tons.

Source:  Michael Smith, “Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo Deal,” Bloomberg, June 29, 2010.

According to movie executives, movie piracy in the United States costs the economy over $20 Billion a year.

Source: Ronald Grover and Todd Shields, “Movie-Piracy Websites Shut Down in Raids by U.S.,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 30, 2010.