Previously, many human smugglers on the US border had their "clients" send the funds into Arizona via Western Union and other money service businesses, but Arizona law enforcement successfully interdicted large numbers of those payments, forcing the smugglers to change tactics. Now they instruct that commercial banks be used as the facilitators of their criminal enterprises.

Here's how it works:

• The smuggler opens an account in Arizona at a major bank, which has branches and affiliates in several states, and deposits the minimum required opening balance.
• He orders the relatives of the persons to be smuggled into the US to deposit the funds to branches located in other states. The amounts are large sums, but under the $10,000 reporting requirement.
• The smuggler immediately withdraws the funds from his account in cash.
• The illegal aliens whose " travel fees" have been paid are covertly brought into the United States, though a number often die en route, due to the danger of the journey, or the careless actions of the smugglers.

The Arizona Attorney General has uncovered hundreds of accounts utilised by human smugglers for this purpose. Most of criminals masquerade as legitimate individuals who are proprietors of cash-intensive businesses. There is an ongoing operation by Arizona law enforcement to identify these criminals, and to seize their criminal profits.

Banks throughout the US who have branches or affiliates in Arizona should be on the alert for customers who deposit large amounts into accounts that are not their own, and such funds are immediately withdrawn by the account holder in Arizona.  Alternatively, are large deposits being made by customers to their accounts, and immediate funds transfers made to Mexico, where the client does not have a history of making such large remittances to that country?

There is a danger of reputation damage to your banks should there be any adverse publicity generated from the investigative journalism that is presently focusing upon this subject, and it may make good sense to create a programme inside your institution that educates front-line bank staff of the red flags of human smuggling financing operations. The presence of such a programme may cause human smuggling organisations to avoid your bank entirely, and at the very least, it would be favourably looked upon by regulators conducting investigations.

Note that not all of the individuals seeking to illegally enter the US through Mexico are from Latin America; a smaller number from Asia and other parts of the developing world.