The U.S. State Department has blamed Canada's "lax immigration laws" and generous welfare system for growing problems the country is facing from organized crime groups that traffic in women and children for prostitution and forced labour.

The report came just three days after 12 South Koreans were caught attempting to walk across the U.S.-Canada border near the Coutts-Sweetgrass crossing, a bust officials say has put a dent in an international human smuggling ring with its tentacles across Western Canada.

Two South Korean women will likely be thrown out of the country Friday as a result of the bust, and will likely be followed by eight more following immigration hearings in Calgary today.

The women admitted they came to Canada for the sole purpose of being smuggled into the U.S.

Fisher said the problem is growing. In the past year, the number of South Koreans caught illegally crossing the B.C. border into Washington state has increased tenfold, to more than 100.

"These are the ones that got caught trying. The numbers of people who made it successfully across? We don't know."