The Industry of Illegal Migration: Social Network Analysis of the Brazil‐US Migration System

Abstract

In this article, we analyse the process of migration by applying a social network methodology. Using the personal network approach, we focus on a case study of the Brazil-US migration system to analyse the formation of the so-called "industry of illegal migration". We suggest that in migration systems, brokerage evolves not only because of historical and cultural changes, but also because the changes emerge within a structured environment in which brokerage can thrive, and this, in turn, causes the social networks to support and produce specialized actors (individuals and organizations) embedded in the "right positions" of the social structure in the migration process. In this particular case study, we suggest that brokerage seems to take place through gender-oriented networks and the personal experience and structural power of returned migrants. These returned migrants usually have more varied social contacts and types of relationships from which they can obtain richer information about the migration system.

The networked character of migration and transnationalism

“…For instance, personal ties provide valuable information about finding a helper or smuggler to cross national borders (e.g., Asad & Garip, 2019; Bilecen, 2012; Garip, 2016). Adopting a personal network approach, Fazito and Soares (2015) showed that specialized actors in the illegal migration industry emerged within the context of social networks and suggested that particularly return migrants with a high brokerage in their personal networks are valuable intermediaries in clandestine operations of border crossings. Furthermore, using qualitative approaches, Mandić (2017) and Achilli (2018) showed that migrant‐smuggler relationships were mostly positive, far from the dominant narrative of public policy: Migrants saw them as allies, guides and informants that could save their lives.…”

Social Networks and Transnational Social Fields: A Review of Quantitative and Mixed-Methods Approaches

“…Studies focusing on individuals that adopt the personal networks approaches vary in the definition of the population and the name generators they use. With regard to the population, such studies usually concentrate on immigrants from a selected origin country residing in a selected destination (see Table 1), although some focus on return migrants (Fazito and Soares 2015) or include “natives” of the destination country (Dahinden 2009; Viry et al 2017; Andersson, Edling, and Rydgren 2018). Some investigate specific migrant flows from a single origin to a single destination (e.g., Lubbers et al 2010; Herz 2015; Bojarczuk and Mühlau 2018; Hosnedlová 2017), while others compare multiple flows to or from the same country (e.g., Bilecen and Sienkiewicz 2015; Cachia and Maya Jariego 2018; Kornienko et al 2018; Vacca et al 2018).…”

“…Several approaches have been used to get at a broader range of relationships that extend beyond the core network. One study used a position generator to measure weaker ties (Andersson, Edling, and Rydgren 2018), while others fix requested network size to a high number (e.g., “please tell me about 45 people”; e.g., Bolíbar, Martí, and Verd 2015; Fazito and Soares 2015; Hosnedlová 2017; Bojarczuk and Mühlau 2018; Cachia and Maya Jariego 2018; Vacca et al 2018). Other methodological aspects in which these individual-focused studies vary are the temporality of the research design, which is usually cross-sectional but sometimes longitudinal (Lubbers et al 2010; Hosnedlová 2017), and the weight that qualitative methods have in the design.…”

The Migration Industry and the H‐2 Visa in the United States: Employers, Labour Intermediaries, and the State

“…At its core, brokerage facilitates access to knowledge, opportunities and connections (Stovel and Shaw, 2012). Systems of brokerage reward those who are in the "right positions" (Fazito and Soares, 2015), able to make connections between migrants seeking jobs and employers seeking workers.…”