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Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Trafficking in the United States

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Abstract

In examining human trafficking in 25 nations throughout the world we discovered that each country has its own environmental factors that create a unique set of anti-trafficking issues and obstacles. For example, in India you can’t address the issue of trafficking without also discussing the caste system. In the US you can’t properly address the post-trafficking experience of victims without mentioning the hot button issue of immigration. Despite nation-specific differences, the characteristics of human trafficking are remarkably similar worldwide. Such common characteristics are fraudulent recruitment, exorbitant travel and recruitment fees, the withholding of the victim’s visas and other identifying documentation, controlling and limiting the victim’s movements, threatening deportation, threatening to harm the victim or his/her family, and physically harming the victim. These frequent traits of the trafficking experience can be seen in any nation regardless of geographical location or whether the nation is considered first, second, or third world. What makes identifying each nation’s unique anti-trafficking issues and obstacles critical is not only to recognize potential victims but also to point to common practices or even national objectives that may be in direct conflict with the specific nation’s own anti-trafficking efforts. This article not only describes the precise picture of human trafficking in the US but also illustrates that no nation, including the US, is exempt.

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Notes

  1. No actual names of victims are published in this piece.

  2. The confiscation of travel documents is also a commonly used technique by traffickers.

  3. The total number also includes the 130 persons allegedly trafficked by Louisiana Labor, LLC (Matt Redd), and 52 persons allegedly trafficked from Panama to the Mississippi [51].

  4. Interview with Lori J. Elmer on 25 June 2009.

  5. This includes the 130 persons allegedly trafficked by Louisiana Labor, LLC (Matt Redd). No suit has yet been filed against Redd or Louisiana Labor, LLC.

  6. The other defendants in this case are Bianca Nikole Vierra (19-years-old), Ryan Lia Rasmussen (29-years-old), Deairick Dante Newsome (22-years-old), and Mark Anthony Grayned (22-years-old) [30, 57].

  7. Interview with Christa M. Stewart on 18 March 2009.

  8. Interview with Suzanne B. Seltzer on 7 April 2009.

  9. Interview with Christa M. Stewart on 18 March 2009.

  10. Interview with Suzanne B. Seltzer on 7 April 2009.

  11. Signal allegedly trafficked 500–550 persons from India to the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina [15]. Victims each paid roughly $20,000 to traffickers and their agents, placing them in a position of debt bondage [11, 15].

  12. Interview with Barry Nelson on 25 September 2009.

  13. The MPI report encompasses arrest date since the inception of the Fugitive Operations Program in 2003 until early 2008.

  14. Interview with Caitlin Ryland on 16 September 2009.

  15. Interview with Kavitha Sreeharsha on 4 March 2009.

  16. Interview with Alia El-Sawi on 19 February 2009.

  17. Interview with Jennifer Dreher on 19 February 2009.

  18. Interview with Kavitha Sreeharsha on 4 March 2009.

  19. Personal communication with Thom Mrozek, Public Affairs Officer, United States Department of Justice, Central District of California, on 18 November 2009.

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  1. Freelance Writer, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Stephanie Hepburn

  2. School of Public Affairs, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Rita J. Simon

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Correspondence to Stephanie Hepburn.

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Hepburn, S., Simon, R.J. Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Trafficking in the United States. Gend. Issues 27, 1–26 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-010-9087-7

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