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Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday called on four social media giants to stop allowing posts on their sites that entice people to pick up undocumented migrants at the border and ferry them to their destinations in exchange for cash.
In a two-page letter, Ducey implores the heads of TikTok, Snap, Twitter and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) to prohibit the posts by recruiters who work for the Mexican cartels. The recruiters are offering $1,500 to $2,000 for every migrant a person can place in their vehicle and transport to Tucson or Phoenix.
The drivers who are being lured in these posts are referred to as "load-car drivers" by law enforcement because migrants are called "loads" by the social media recruiters and the cartels.
The situation has become so acute in Cochise County over the last few months that the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, launched a Safe Streets Task Force aimed solely at stopping load car drivers and their human cargo.
Sheriff Mark Dannels, who has stopped many a load car driver himself, has repeatedly said that once caught, the drivers — often teens who are glued to social media — will admit they saw a post that promised them plenty of cash for their efforts.
Additionally, the Cochise County Attorney's Office has begun prosecuting load-car drivers who bolt from police at high rates of speed. Those who are caught are being charged with kidnapping and unlawful fleeing and eluding. Some of the load-car drivers who have been stopped and arrested have been as young as 14.
“Cartels (are) preying on those seeking refuge for a better life, and facilitating the flow of drugs into American communities," Ducey said in his missive. "And — these criminals are using your companies’ social media platforms to make it happen.
"Social media serves as the recruiting method for these criminals. Arizona law enforcement has tracked posts and messages that mislead American citizens, who are often young, glamorizing a lifestyle made possible by human smuggling paydays."
The governor referenced an article in the Herald/Review last week in which Dannels and Sierra Vista Police Chief Adam Thrasher mentioned the cartels had upped the ante on what they're paying the drivers. The sheriff said that because the task force has made several arrests since its creation two months ago, the cartels have had to increase their pay from $1,000 for every migrant transported to $2,000.
"People didn't want to come down here and take a chance for just $1,000 per migrant," Dannels told the H/R.
In the last few weeks, some social media posts have specifically mentioned Sierra Vista and Sells in Pima County. The recruiters have said Sierra Vista is getting "heated" and that Sells is an alternative pickup point. One social media post offers $1,200 per migrant picked up near Sierra Vista and $1,500 for those transported from Sells.
Soon after the Safe Streets Task Force was formed, Sheriff's Commander Robert Watkins, who leads the unit, told the Herald/Review the heart of the problem germinates with the social media companies that are allowing the recruiting posts on their sites. Watkins said it was his goal to appeal to these companies to stop allowing such content.
In his letter, Ducey reminds the social media company heads that those being recruited to transport migrants are mainly young people.
"Just as your companies work to protect youth from obscenity and violence on your social media platforms, it's time to protect them from criminal solicitation, as well. In screening these ads your companies can increase the safety of our communities while also protecting these kids from enticement into activity that will ultimately result in their involvement with the judicial system and all the consequences that come with that.
"I urge you to stop letting your social media platform be used as a tool for criminal activity, and I welcome your partnership to address this issue. It's time for the entire social media industry to put a stop to this activity and prevent the exploitation of our youth."
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