The Criminal Networks Moving Migrants Refugees Across Europe

Migrants 3
Migrants showing registration papers and Syrian passports in the transit center for refugees in Sid, about 100 km west from Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras has called for sanctions to be imposed on European Union states that refuse to take in their share of the hundreds of thousands of refugees flowing into the continent through his country. Darko Vojinovic / AP Photo
Migrants 3
Migrants showing registration papers and Syrian passports in the transit center for refugees in Sid, about 100 km west from Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras has called for sanctions to be imposed on European Union states that refuse to take in their share of the hundreds of thousands of refugees flowing into the continent through his country. Darko Vojinovic / AP Photo

The Criminal Networks Moving Migrants Refugees Across Europe

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In a new report, the European Union’s (EU) law enforcement agency, Europol, estimates that 90 percent of irregular migrants and refugees coming to Europe get there through a criminal network. 

These networks involve tens-of-thousands of individuals, many of whom themselves are EU nationals and are able to quickly adapt to shifting market demands. 

The EU says it wants to target the smugglers. The Greek Prime Minister says his country, which daily receives thousands of refugees, says he does not want his country to become a “warehouse of souls.” 

Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute-Europe, joined us to talk about the report and efforts to hit back at smuggling rings.