College students will do just about anything to make a quick buck. Not long ago, I was in that exact spot, working various on-campus jobs at my alma mater, Arizona Christian University.
The Arizona Republic recently released a report about football players from Arizona Christian who were caught in a migrant smuggling scheme two years ago. The report tells the story of two student-athletes who were paid — one made $1,000 — to drive “migrants from border towns to metro Phoenix” and were later arrested for doing so.
A whole chapter of the Republic’s investigation is devoted to explaining what Arizona Christian is purportedly all about.
It should go without saying, but there are many ethical and lawful ways college students can make money. This is a cautionary tale about avoiding schemes that promise quick money but hide the dangers associated with these activities.
The Republic’s report shines a light on an underreported issue happening in Arizona and other border states: migrant smuggling, which is when illegal aliens are snuck into the U.S. either knowingly or with reckless disregard.
Migrant smuggling is difficult to track due to the nature of the crime. The migration data portal reports that a “minimum of 2.5 million migrants were smuggled in 2016” for a profit of $5 billion.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports that smuggling is a daily occurrence in the Rio Grande Valley and that most smugglers “don’t take into account personal safety or comfort.” Those who make it across the border through smuggling can find themselves “at risk for assault and abuse such as rape, beatings, kidnapping, and robbery.”
Smugglers, often affiliated with transnational criminal organizations, have turned to social media to promote their business. The Border Report found social media accounts of smugglers on TikTok, enticing migrants to cross the border. The videos advertise their services as easy by using trendy audio clips and stating that their service is “100% guaranteed.”
John Modlin, Tucson’s chief patrol agent, told the Republic that high school and college-aged drivers are recruited by ads found on social media. “A lot of kids, to them, their first thought is, ‘Hey this is kind of like Uber. Like this is a rideshare thing. I’m just going to go and pick somebody up,’” Modlin said.
The report revealed that the two arrested football players were released without prosecution. Drivers involved in the scheme are often released without prosecution due to probable cause issues, the lack of witnesses willing to testify, or the “sheer caseload” of smuggling instances.
In response to the Republic report, Arizona Christian University condemned the incident.
“Our goal, consistent with our Christian witness, is to ‘restore and redeem,’” Arizona Christian said in a statement. The university suspended the students involved from the football program and placed “disciplinary requirements” for them to continue their education.
Following the report’s release, former students and peers contacted me with concerns about how the story portrayed the university in a negative light. Former Arizona Christian football players I spoke to about the incident recalled it and insisted that it hasn’t happened since.
Arizona Christian University also claimed in a statement that the story was being used to make the school look bad.
“To be clear, the conduct at issue in this report was and is unacceptable at ACU. No one turned a blind eye to it or acted like it was not a big deal,” the university said in its statement. “But it is truly unfortunate that this news story takes the actions of a handful, who were dealt with expeditiously by ACU, to tarnish an up-and-coming University known for the character and quality of its graduates.”
A whole chapter of the Republic’s investigation is devoted to explaining what Arizona Christian is purportedly all about, noting the university’s Christian identity that the football players supposedly represent. As an alumna of Arizona Christian, I can attest to my college’s commitment to having every student learn Christian beliefs and values. The statement of faith and the chapels students must attend are just a snippet of the university’s experience.
Arizona Christian caught national attention last year when the university filed a lawsuit against the Washington Elementary School district. The district’s board stopped a long-time partnership to train and hire teachers from Arizona Christian due to the university’s Christian values. Arizona Christian held no hatred or ill-manner toward the school board, and the board later reinstated the partnership, which allowed the university to drop the lawsuit.
While the “broke college student life” can be challenging, one shouldn’t need to turn to committing crimes to escape it.
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