Political torture. Ethnic cleansing. Natural disasters.
And victims of human trafficking – whose stories are hidden in the shadows of America.
Immigrant Stories Of Horror
The United States, at present, is in the middle of a gut-wrenching debate on immigration reform. Immigrants without proper legal documents are often portrayed as individuals who take advantage of our country’s resources without any adverse consequences.
All the while, human trafficking victims remain silently trapped in an underground world of abuse and exploitation at the hands of legal residents and citizens.
Recent newspaper headlines tell the story all too clearly.
• Five brothers from Ukraine are arrested for running a human bondage center from their cleaning business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shuttling victims to New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
• A restaurant owner in Woodstock, Georgia is apprehended for operating a prostitution ring, comprised of women from Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador out of his place of business during non-restaurant hours
• A shoot-out occurs at a Houston, Texas house serving as a smuggling center, where Honduran nationals are beaten, wrapped in trash bags, and raped daily, while the smugglers extort money from the victims’ families to obtain their release.
What Is Human Trafficking?
In short, it's modern day slavery.
The United Nations has defined human trafficking as the process by which a person is recruited to be controlled and held captive for the purpose of exploitation.
It involves the use of abduction, coercion, deception, fraud, and physical abuse. It subjects men, women, and children to forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Usually, victim are placed in jobs like making clothing, growing food for export, assembling toys for children, cleaning homes, and providing childcare to the family of their slaveholders. Both women and young girls are often forced into prostitution.
Human Trafficking Is A Large, Large Problem
Exact statistics are impossible to compile. But estimates demonstrate the immense magnitude of human trafficking for human slavery purposes:
• Approximately 27 million people are enslaved around the world
• It is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the 21st century - a nine billion dollar industry
• The majority of victims are women and children. 14,500 to 17,500 persons are trafficked into the U.S. each year. 70% of the victims are women, 50% are children.
• 15% of adults are primarily trafficked for sexual labor activities. With minors, approximately 38% are forced to become prostitutes.
• The U.S. is one of the top three countries for trafficked victims. California, New York, Texas, and Nevada are the leading U.S. destinations. Florida and Ohio have started to emerge as trafficking centers due to the presence of industries conducive to forced labor.
• Just in Los Angeles alone, about 10,000 women are being held in underground brothels. This figure does not include those who are involved in domestic work, sweatshops, and other informal industries in Los Angeles.
Why Don't Victims Escape?
It’s actually quite easy to figure out why most human slavery victims don’t attempt to escape.
On the one hand, their oppressors threaten to come after them or their family if they try to leave.
Victims are also told that immigration authorities will be called and they will be deported or put in jail. For victims, deportation means retaliation by the traffickers, due to their web of connections in the victim’s home country.
On the other hand, most victims fear being alone in the U.S. if they successfully escape. Their limited language skills, unfamiliarity with the area, lack of money and documents to legally live here, they feel there is no way out of their situation.
Hopelessness keeps them obedient to their abusers.
Since I specialize in deportation defense, I know there are immigration protections available to them in certain situations. Given their circumstances and captivity, it's not likely they have heard about these remedies.
What Is The Solution?
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security launched the “Blue Campaign” – a campaign to fight human trafficking through enhanced public awareness, victim assistance programs, and special law enforcement training.
The public awareness aspects of the campaign will start in various cities throughout the country. Information will be provided in 18 different languages. Success depends on all of us. To the extent we learn to spot the tell-tale signs, we learn to identify victims hidden in the shadows - and the sooner law agencies can close in on the perpetuators of trafficking of human beings.
Together, we can slam the door shut on human slavery.
Author Resource:
If you've been the victim of human trafficking or abuse, you need to seek advice from someone you can trust. Riverside Immigration Lawyer Carlos Batara, a Harvard Law School graduate, has helped immigrants fight deportation and win immigration trials for over 16 years. Visit www.bataraimmigrationlaw.com and learn how our offices can help you earn the right to live and work legally in the United States.
As an 
• Five brothers from Ukraine are arrested for running a human bondage center from their cleaning business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, shuttling victims to New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Usually, victim are placed in jobs like making clothing, growing food for export, assembling toys for children, cleaning homes, and providing childcare to the family of their slaveholders. Both women and young girls are often forced into prostitution.
It’s actually quite easy to figure out why most human slavery victims don’t attempt to escape.
Recently, the Department of Homeland Security launched the “Blue Campaign” – a campaign to fight human trafficking through enhanced public awareness, victim assistance programs, and special law enforcement training.
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