Criminal Procedure Aspects of Law Enforcement Activities to Counter Illegal Migration: Challenges and Prospects

Introduction: the article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the criminal procedure problems of investigating crimes under Art. 322.1 of the Criminal Code. The relevance of the topic is beyond doubt: illegal migration is one of the key challenges to Russia's national security, and the effectiveness of the fight against it directly depends on the debugged procedural mechanisms. The author put forward the thesis of "dualism of jurisdiction" (division of cases under Articles 322 and 322.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation between the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs), demonstrated that this artificial distinction slows down the investigation of complex crimes, leads to departmental conflicts and fragmentation of a single criminal case. Various aspects of the investigation were considered: from checking the report of a crime and detention to interdepartmental interaction and international cooperation, special attention was paid to the procedural nuances of the detention of foreign citizens and the need to notify the consulate. In general, the author sought to show the transition from theoretical analysis to concrete, substantiated proposals for improving legislation and law enforcement practice. Materials and Methods: the methodological basis of the study was formal-logical, comparative-legal, statistical research methods. The use of formal-logical and concrete-sociological methods is due to the need to identify and prove the existence of a systemic procedural problem. The specific sociological method was used in the analysis of specific court decisions available in databases ("Analysis of court decisions under Article 322.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation shows heterogeneity of practice in different regions of Russia"). Based on this method, conclusions were formulated about practical problems (for example, problems with notifying consulates, difficulties in identifying individuals). Results: it’s necessary comprehensive criminal procedure analysis of the activities of law enforcement agencies at all stages of proceedings for crimes related to the organization of illegal migration is required, and on this basis the development of systemic proposals for improving criminal procedure legislation and law enforcement practice. Discussion and Conclusions: on the basis of the identified problems, it seems appropriate to introduce a set of legislative, organizational and practical measures aimed at solving the problems of solving and investigating crimes in the field of illegal migration.