Transcript Trafficking Victim Visa T Visa

Photos by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization
HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
Modern Day Slavery
Adapted and amended from Freedom Network
Institute on Human Trafficking curriculum by
Florrie Burke and Maria Jose T. Fletcher
© Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
(CAST), 2012. All Rights Reserved.
Photo by Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Human Trafficking
Some rough estimates of the scope of the problem
• In the U.S. 18,000-20,000 women and children are
trafficked annually, plus thousands of men.
• Half of all sex trade victims are children!
• Average age of a trafficked child is between 8-14 yrs.
• Millions of people trafficked worldwide annually.
• Twenty seven million people in slavery around the world.
• Nine billion dollar business – 2nd only to drug and arms
trade – only these are human beings!
The Church’s Duty to Respond
• (Site scripture)
• Other Christian Efforts
Why such a big Problem??
• Compared to Drugs or Arms, Human
Trafficking:
• Is more profitable!
• Produces continuous profits.
• Involves little or no risk to trafficker.
• Can be very difficult to detect in
unaware communities.
How prevalent – problem?
• Cases of human trafficking have been
reported in all fifty states of the United States
(Free the Slaves).
• Human trafficking is a market-based
economy that exists on principles of supply
and demand. It thrives due to conditions
which allow for high profits to be generated
at low risk.
Trafficking Vs. Smuggling
•
•
•
•
Trafficking
Crime or violation against a
person
Contains element of
coercion (cannot consent
to enslavement)
Subsequent exploitation
and/or forced labor
Trafficked persons seen as
victims by the law
•
•
•
•
Smuggling
Unauthorized border crossing
No coercion
Facilitated illegal entry of
person from one country to
another
Smuggled persons seen as
criminals by the law
“Severe form of trafficking in
persons” means:
(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is
induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the
person induced to perform such act has not attained
18 years of age; or
(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision,
or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through
the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of
subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt
bondage, or slavery.
Smuggling vs Trafficking
• Smuggling:
• An offense against the integrity of US borders
• Requires illegal crossing of borders
• Smugglers typically make their money up front once the
‘alien’ has reached the US border – their ‘business
relationship’ with the person ends.
• Can become trafficking if a person is forced to provide
labor or services.
Smuggling vs Trafficking cont’
• Trafficking:
• An offense against the person directly
• Involves compelled or forced labor or service
• Traffickers may use smuggling debt as a means to
control victims (debt bondage)
• Traffickers may maintain ongoing control over victims,
even after the border is crossed.
Three Elements of Trafficking
1
PROCESS
Recruiting
OR
Harboring
OR
Moving
OR
Obtaining
a person,
2
MEANS
3
END
For the purposes of
by
Force
OR
Fraud
OR
Coercion
Involuntary Servitude
OR
Debt Bondage
OR
Slavery
OR
Sex Trade
Who is being trafficked?
•
•
•
•
Under the legal definition, trafficking victims in the US can
be divided into three populations:
Minors (under age 18) induced into commercial sex.
Adults age 18 or over involved in commercial sex via
force, fraud, or coercion.
Children and adults forced to perform labor and/or
services in conditions of involuntary servitude, peonage,
debt bondage, or slavery, via force, fraud, or coercion.
Contrary to myth, trafficking does not legally require
transportation between places.
Child Victims
• Child sexual exploitation is the most hidden form of child
abuse in the U.S. today.
• Approximately 250,000 American youth are at risk of
commercial sexual exploitation each year
• 90% of all children and youth trafficked for sexual purposes in
the U.S. are citizens.
• The risk of commercial sexual exploitation of U.S. children is
greater than risks associated with deaths by firearms, accidents,
homicides, and suicides.
• Average age of entry is 8-14 years old!
•
Source: Estes, Richards J., and Neal Alan Weiner, 2001. The commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Current WI Statistics
• 200 – Number of identified cases of sex and labor
trafficking.
• 85% – Proportion of victims in the 200 identified cases
who were adults.
• 75% – Proportion of victims in the 200 identified cases
who were victims of sex trafficking.
• As of July 2012: 31 incarcerated - on 42 counts of
human trafficking.
•
Polaris Project | National Human Trafficking Resource Center | 1-888-3737-888 |
[email protected]
www.PolarisProject.org © Copyright Polaris Project, 2012. All Rights Reserved
The Face of a Trafficking Victim
• There is no one consistent face of a
trafficking victim. Trafficked persons can
be rich or poor, men or women, adults or
children, and foreign nationals or US
citizens.
• Yet they all share the loss of one of our
world’s most cherished rights—freedom.
Vulnerabilities
• Certain events or characteristics make
populations more vulnerable to trafficking:
• Lack of social safety nets
• Runaway/homeless youth
• Mail order brides
• Poverty/domestic/economic hardship
• Debt
• Lure of money or status
Vulnerabilities
• Demand for cheap labor – temporary
workers
• Political instability. armed conflict of
oppressed or marginalized groups
• Natural disasters – displaced persons
• Immigration Status – documented and
undocumented
• Victims of domestic violence/sexual
assault
Human Trafficking is a Crime!
• Human Trafficking is a crime under US
and international law, as well as under
many state laws.
• The Trafficking Victims Protection Act
(TVPA) of 2000 is the main US law on
trafficking. It has been reauthorized in
2003, 2005 and 2008, 2011.
Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Protection Act (TVPA)
• A comprehensive law : focuses on three
key elements:
– Prevention
– Prosecution
– Protection
A Victim-Centered Approach
Service
Providers
Victim
Attorneys
Law
Enforcement
The Face of a Trafficker
There is no one consistent face of a
trafficker. Traffickers include a wide range
of criminal operators, including individual
pimps, small families or businesses, looseknit decentralized criminal networks, and
international organized criminal
syndicates. It is extremely multi-layered!
Human Trafficking
• “Whoever knowingly recruits, harbors,
transports, provides, or obtains by any
means, any person for labor or services in
peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude or
forced labor. . .”
US Criminal Law
OR
• Anyone who is being manipulated or forced to
work against his/her will or provide services
for the benefit of someone else (involuntary
servitude)
Modern-Day Slavery:
A Prison Without Walls
How trafficking happens
• Threats of deportation
• Withholding documents
• Threats to family members in home
country
• Isolation
• Verbal abuse
• Psychological coercion is often coupled
with threatened or actual physical
violence and sexual assault
How People Are Recruited
• Acquaintances or family
• Newspaper ads
• Fake employment
agencies
• Front businesses
• Word of mouth
• Abduction
Photo by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization
Some Examples of Trafficking
and Slavery
•
•
•
•
•
•
Domestic service
Prostitution
Marriage
Factories
Peddling/Begging
Agriculture/Farms
•
•
•
•
Criminal activity
Restaurant work
Construction
Hotel/motel
housekeeping
• Other informal labor
sectors
Where Trafficking can Happen
Sex trafficking venues:
• Streets or work sites
• Massage Parlors
• Spas
• Brothels/escort services
• Exotic dancing clubs
• Strip Clubs
• Studios of pornography
• Truck stops
• On-line exploitation
Where Trafficking can Happen
Labor Trafficking:
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Hair/nail salons
- Factories
- Farms
- Construction/Landscaping venues
- Domestic Servitude homes (1st WI case prosecuted)
- Peddling/begging sites
- Other small business
Missions Work and Trafficking
• Spreading the Gospel, furthering the
church
• Working with vulnerable populations
• Access to resources
• Overseas – in areas very likely to be
exposed to.
Why People Decide to Migrate
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economic
Social
Personal
Civil unrest
Political persecution
Escape from genderbased discrimination
• Adventure/opportunity
Photo by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization
Why Migrants Are Vulnerable to
Human Traffickers
• Immigration laws/policies
– Demand for migrant work, but lack of safe,
legal ways to migrate
– Seeking marriage
• Ethnic, religious, national discrimination
• Dependence on third parties for
information about migration, etc. Too
trusting – have no alternative.
A Human Rights Approach
To Human Trafficking and Slavery
• (Site Scripture)
• Focuses on situation, needs and rights of
trafficked and enslaved persons
• Respects individual autonomy and rights
• Is empowering and non-judgmental
• Connects rights of the individual to
prosecution of traffickers and slaveholders
Victims Of Human Trafficking
and Slavery Are Entitled To:
•
•
•
•
•
Safety
Privacy
Information
Legal representation
Be heard in court
• Compensation for
damages
• Medical assistance
• Social assistance
• Seek residence
• Return
The Goal
• Restoration of dignity
• Understanding of human rights
• Having options and making choices
• Independence
What Are The Options For
Relief And Recovery?
•
•
•
•
Criminal prosecution
Civil law remedies
Repatriation
Immigration
Even without documentation, every person in the
United States is protected by US labor & criminal law.
Immigration Relief:
Trafficking Victim Visa
(“T” Visa)
What Is A T Visa?
• Enables certain victims of human trafficking
and/or slavery to live and work in U.S. for three
years (VAWA 2005 – 4 years)
– Can apply for adjustment of status to lawful
permanent resident
• Can petition to have spouses and children
accompany (and parents and siblings if under
21)
• Cap of 5,000 visas annually
T Visa: Visa for Victims of Trafficking
• For victims of a severe form of trafficking in
persons, i.e., sex, labor;
• Compliance with any reasonable request for
assistance in the investigation or prosecution.
– UNLESS victim is under the age of 18
• Extreme hardship involving unusual harm upon
removal.
Benefits of the T visa
•
•
•
•
•
Nonimmigrant status in U.S. for 3 yrs
Employment authorization
Possibility of nonimmigrant status for family
Possibility of adjusting status to LPR after 3 yrs
Same benefits as refugees
Child Victims of Trafficking
– Children are not required to cooperate with law enforcement
– If safe and appropriate, children may return to their families
– Children are eligible for services if they remain in the U.S.
• Through the unaccompanied refugee minor (URM) program of the US
Conference of Catholic Bishops or Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee
Services (LIRS)
• Through community services for youth
• Through state child welfare system
– Custody issues are different in each situation and there are advantages
and disadvantages to different programs
– Cases can be very complicated, contact an attorney to help assess all of
the options in a case
– Children can also apply for the T visa and immigrate their parents and
siblings to the U.S.
Other Forms of Immigration Relief
•
U Visa
–
•
S Visa
–
•
Victims of certain criminal activity who suffered
substantial physical or mental abuse
Person is in possession of information concerning
criminal organization or enterprise
Asylum
–
Person has suffered or fears persecution based on
race, religion, nationality, political opinion or
membership in a particular social group in country
of origin
Other Forms of Immigration Relief,
cont’d
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
– Children eligible for long-term foster care due
to abuse, neglect or abandonment when
return to home country not a viable option
• Violence Against Women Act
– Allows certain battered immigrants to file for
immigration relief without abuser’s assistance
or knowledge
How the Church Can Help!
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•
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•
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Create an awareness
Educate our church members
Provide Materials – Resource Center
Respond to victims
Help be preventive – safe haven for those vulnerable
Fundraisers
Incorporate issue into our services
Get involved – Legislation
Assist Community Service Providers
Support our Missionaries
Support Fair Trade establishments/companies
For Next Class
• Study Materials
• Review a Book, Video or Movie
• Make notes as to how you feel our church
can help
• Make notes as to how your gifts and
talents may be used
• Pray for the victims and those providing
help or services
• Contact Pastor David to enroll.
Conclusion
• (Site closing Scripture)
THE END