In 10 weeks at the beginning of the year I traveled to Paris, Bangkok, Doha, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the desert outside Dubai and Maui (plus places like Washington DC and San Francisco of course). Over and over, when people asked where I was going next, I heard “can you take me along in your suitcase?”

This morning an Eritrean man is making news, having been found inside a suitcase in Chiasso, Switzerland after train passengers heard moans emanating from inside. The train originated in Italy, and the man in the suitcase was traveling with another man who was hiding in the bathroom.

This is getting signficant media play because it’s rare — but it’s not that rare. Here’s Spanish video from two years ago:

While this is impressive, shocking, and sad to see the important lesson here is that travel restrictions turn legitimate refugees into criminals.