Maritime Migrant Interdiction: Legal Analysis from Bangladesh and the United States Perspective

Abstract

Migration is a common phenomenon of human civilization. However, in the current millennium, this phenomenon has turned into a salient feature of organized crime. Smuggling migrants by sea enables organized crime to achieve a global presence by obtaining financial benefits through the illegal entry of a person into a state where they are not a resident. Such illegal migration is comparable to human trafficking, which is a ‘crime against humanity’. Hence, for the purpose of preventing human smuggling as well as to obstruct the entry of ‘undocumented’ migrants as a part of national security, the concept of ‘maritime migrant interdiction’ has become a vital border enforcement tool. The presentation delves into the comparative legal analysis of ‘maritime migrant interdiction’ between Bangladesh and the United States. The United States has been struggling with a variety of maritime border policing issues since the early 1980's. However, Bangladesh, a least developed country (LDC) situated on the northern tip of the Bay of Bengal, has become entangled in such issues at the outset of 1990's. The magnitude of the influx of migrant people across the Naaf River, an estuary of the Bay of Bengal, has inundated the country not only with refugee issues but also with the issues of human rights in tandem with the national security interest. At the beginning, the presentation would explore the law and practice of United States as to maritime migrant interdiction. Subsequently, the Executive Orders of 12324 and 12807 would be reviewed which pave the interdiction and repatriation of undocumented migrants. Thereafter, the legal provisions related to the responsibilities and obligations of the US Coast Guard, which is the primary maritime law enforcement agency of the United States, would be explained. Afterwards, to present comparative view, the relevant laws and practice of Bangladesh would be focused. In the concluding part, the presentation would address the common challenges of both countries, i.e. to conduct migrant interdiction at sea without infringing human dignity and human rights of the migrants. There would be an emphasis in conclusion to establish mutual legal assistance and training between Bangladesh and the United States to execute effective search, inspection and interdiction of illegal migrants at Sea.