“U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a campaign Tuesday to encourage the public to report possible human trafficking and for victims to come forward and report abuse” reports the Tucson Citizen. The campaign is called “Death is not the only way to lose your life.” This new iniative by these combined agencies assists victims of human trafficking, who can be misidentified as “illegal aliens.” One of their purposes is to make victims aware of special programs and visas they might qualify for.
Another reason I think these two agencies, who are the implementors of most laws in relation to immigration, are trying to address in some ways their relationship to immigrants, indicates to me that perhaps they are trying to deal with the fear that immigrants have of those agencies, particularly as it relates to victims of these types of abuses. Since many law enforcement officials are not able to identify victims, either citizens or immigrants, as victims of human trafficking and subsequent slavery, they often do treat people as offenders of various crimes. It is wonderful to hear that there will be a campaign to raise awareness in the public and train law enforcement officials.
The comments in this article indicate the various aspects of human trafficking, and why it can be tricky business to determine if a person has been a victim. A person may begin as agreeing to be smuggled, or agreeing to a job in the US for which they believe they will be entering the country legally. However, once the smugglers use “force, fraud, or coercion,” people are human trafficking victims. Human trafficking refers only to transport, and NOT to what happens when a person arrives at the final destination. The purpose of human trafficking is only to transport a “product” to the “buyer.” Once a girl is brought to a place where, for example, she is forced to be a prostitute, she is now a slave.
More articles on this story can be found here:
CBP, ICE Launch Effort to Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking found at the Customs and Border Enforcement website.
CBP, ICE Raising Awareness of Human Trafficking found at News Channel 5 in Wesalco, TX!
In a related matter, Michael Mukasey spoke at the 2008 National Conference on Human Trafficking, sponsored by the Department of Justice. The remarks are found here. More info will be provided on this site as it is available.
~sarah~
