U.S to target migrant smugglers as Biden struggles with border crossings

FILE PHOTO: A human smuggler, or coyote, rides a motorcycle on the beach after Honduran migrant families trying to reach the U.S. crossed the Usumacinta river on a boat, at Corozal border crossing in Lacandon jungle, Mexico March 7, 2021. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The United States is launching an operation to identify and target human smugglers, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday, as the Biden administration struggles with record numbers of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that Operation Sentinel would seek to block smugglers' ability to engage in "travel, trade, and finance" in the United States.