Trafficking in Persons—Victim Protection

When Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act [hereinafter TVPA],^[1] they created a special “T” visa that allowed the victims who were trafficked to stay in the United States and receive services such as courses in English.^[2] However, only about 800 victims, out of an estimated 14,000 to 17,000 who have been brought into the country to work as prostitutes or slave, have come forward to take advantage of the program.^[3]

Because so few people have signed up for the special visas, Steve Wagner, the head of the human trafficking program with the Department of Health and Human Services, is going to Houston today “to launch a public awareness campaign about the problems with human trafficking and the need to help victims come forward.”^[4] It is believed that the hesitance to come forward is the fear of deportation and the fact that often the trafficker and the traffickee come from the same cultural background.^[5]

One of the hallmarks of trafficking as opposed to smuggling is that trafficking victims are typically lured into the country under false promises of employment.^[6]

The assistance available to victims of human trafficking is based on the individual being a victim of human trafficking as defined by the TVPA, being willing to assist with the investigation and prosecution of traffickers, and either having completed a bona fide application for a T visa or having received Continued Presence status from the Department of Homeland Security.^[7]

A victim of human trafficking as defined by the TVPA is a person who is subjected to trafficking for sex or labor.^[8]

We have previously discussed human trafficking for prostitution here.

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[1] Pub. L. No. 106-386, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000) (codified at 22 USCS §§ 7101-7110).
[2] See Edward Hegstrom, Federal Help for Trafficking Victims Unused, Houston Chronicle, Nov. 16, 2005, available here. See also 22 U.S.C. § 7105; 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(T).
[3] Hegstrom, supra note 2.
[4] Id. See also, Dept. of Health & Human Services [hereinafter HHS], The Campaign to Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking, Nov. 15, 2005, available here.
[5] Hegstrom, supra note 2.
[6] Id.
[7] HHS, Fact Sheet: Victim Assistance, Nov. 15, 2005, available here.
[8] 22 U.S.C. § 7102(14) (incorporating definitions found in sections 7102(8) or 7102(9)).