Political instability and armed conflict, rapid population growth, environmental degradation, widening economic disparities between countries, and a worsening unemployment crisis in the Asia Pacific region have caused severe migration pressures that have led many people to leave their home countries and move abroad in order to find protection, employment, higher wages, or simply a better life. The Asia Pacific region has been described as the busiest region in the world in terms of illegal migration and organized crime. Every form of criminal behavior associated with migrant trafficking -- including document fraud, corruption, and bribery -- has been documented in this region. Restrictive immigration policies and sophisticated criminal organizations create and sustain the demand for illegal migration. Trafficking organizations offer a wide variety of services, including illegal exit, transit, or entry and advice to migrants on how to successfully enter a country illegally. Although trafficker contact with migrants may end after entry into the destination country, for many migrants a debt-bondage circumstance continues with the trafficker as migrants are exploited through forced labor, threats of harm if money is not paid to them, and in some cases rape. The legalization of illegal goods and services is one way to undercut organized crime. Insofar as possible, the legalization of the migration process is also the most effective way of dealing with migrant trafficking. This would eliminate the criminal element in the migration industry and reduce the exploitation of migrants. Further, it is necessary to prevent illegal migration at the early stages of the clandestine journeys; hence, criminalizing the recruiting of migrant trafficking should be the primary target of law enforcement and control policies. Finally, development aid to source and transit countries can reduce migration pressures and decrease the attractiveness of participation in trafficking operations. 22 notes