Human smugglers advertised 'coyote' services on Facebook as Trump ads remained banned: report

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So-called "coyotes" attempting to sneak migrants across the southern border illegally seem to have a better chance of sticking around Facebook than former President Donald Trump.

Facebook permanently banned the 45th president from their platform following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but the social media giant reportedly allowed human smugglers to openly advertise on their platform until NBC News reporters brought it to the tech company's attention,

"Human smugglers are openly advertising their services on Facebook, falsely telling Central Americans interested in crossing illegally into the United States that they can promise a ‘100[%] safe journey," NBC News reported on Monday.

Citing "Department of Homeland Security officials, immigration experts and lawyers," NBC reported the practice has become increasingly popular since President Biden took office.

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A typical Spanish-language Facebook post located by NBC read: "Travel to Mexico to the United States. Costs $8,000. 100[%] safe. Cross through Matamoros. You walk one hour, after in automobile until you arrive to your relative."

The report noted, "An apparent smuggler posted a picture of a family with luggage, wearing masks and sitting together on what appears to be a plane," alongside a message charging $4,500 for the service.

"A spokesperson said that Facebook policy prohibits human exploitation and trafficking and that the company removes such content when it is identified or flagged by users," NBC reported, adding that Facebook had removed all of the posts NBC News spotlighted.

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Facebook's community standards advise users not to post "content that offers or assists in smuggling of humans." However, while the company apparently only removed the coyotes' posts once notified, it swiftly pulled a video last week of Trump sitting down for an interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

Facebook said any content "in the voice of Donald Trump" would be scrubbed from the social media platform.

A spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked by Fox News whether human smugglers are more likely to be allowed on the platform than the former president.

Facebook moved to block Trump "indefinitely" after the Capitol riot, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying that they "believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great."

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Zuckerberg told lawmakers last month that the State Department has used Facebook to share factual information with users. He noted advertising smuggling services on the platform is against Facebook's policies, adding Facebook is "taking a lot of steps to stop it."

"Let me just say that I think that the situation at the border is really serious," he said, "and we're taking it very seriously."

Fox News’ Brooke SIngman and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.