Human traffickers use Facebook to lure immigrants into the U.S.

The crisis at the U.S. southern border has not subsided, and human traffickers are still on the rise on social media, blatantly attracting residents of Central American countries to smuggle themselves into the United States.

According to NBC News, a number of Spanish-language Facebook pages have been posting information about illegal immigration to the U.S., such as “$8,000 to come to the U.S. from Mexico, 100% safe” and other advertisements, as well as inquiries about ways to smuggle people into the U.S. Soon after the posts were made, traffickers posted smuggling prices and Contact information.

DHS officials say the methods of luring immigrants on social media are not new, but are on the rise. By promoting false information and exaggerating the safety of smuggling, human traffickers are luring more immigrants in and are partly to blame for the current border crisis.

A Facebook spokesperson said that Facebook policy prohibits human exploitation and trafficking, and that Facebook removes relevant content that is identified or flagged by users.