Late last week INS officials in Miami arrested three Ecuadorian men on charges of alien smuggling. According to the agency, they were planning to bring 152 people into the US, and were part of a much larger smuggling ring. The arrests were the result of an investigation run by the INS office in Mexico City in cooperation with six national governments. According to INS spokespeople, there have been other arrests connected with the investigation. If convicted, the men face up to 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000.

Another person, a Honduran national, was arrested in Guatemala as part of the investigation. Authorities say this man was responsible for smuggling more than 300 undocumented immigrants through Houston, Texas, each week. In a press conference where there arrests were announced, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner called him "one of the most notorious alien smugglers on this continent."

In all, the joint anti-smuggling program, known as Operation Forerunner, has resulted in the arrest of 38 people in multiple countries. The program signals a new approach to alien smuggling. In the past, the US tended to view smuggling as an issue that existed only on the US-Mexico border. Now, however, the INS is working with law enforcement in Central American countries to crack down on smuggling through those countries and into Mexico, trying to address the problem before it arrives at the US border.