Human smuggling, Zhang told America.gov, is "a huge underground economy."

In reality, transnational human smuggling has remained an enterprise largely dominated by entrepreneurs.

The number of boat people trying to reach Australia continues to surge, with a new boat recently found. Most are fleeing conflicts in South Asia.

Twelve Middle Eastern immigrants forgot the first rule of sneaking into a country: Don't call attention to yourself.

Back in 2000, when I was "fresh off the boat," as the not-so-nice folks say, I worked on the 24th floor of an office building in Seattle.