Forced Labor in America: Thousands of Workers Are Being Held Against Their Will Vox | |
go to original October 23, 2014 |
Victims of labor trafficking are often invisible to the public. (David Turnley/Getty)
There are thousands of immigrants working in forced labor in the United States - lured into the country by false promises and then trapped or threatened by their employers so that they're unable to leave.
Here's how it happens: a person in Mexico or the Philippines, for example, finds out about an opportunity in the United States through a friend or relative. An employer is offering a nursing job that comes with a green card — so long as the immigrant pays many thousands of dollars in fees and puts her family in debt.
By the time the immigrant arrives in the United States, she finds out most of what she's been told is a lie. Instead of a green card, she receives a restrictive, temporary work visa. Instead of nursing, she'll be working as a domestic servant. Her passport and work papers are locked away, she's not allowed to leave the house, and money is taken out of her paycheck for housing and food. Her employers remind her that if she tries to run away, they'll make sure she gets deported.
Cases like these are surprisingly common in the United States — although no one knows exactly how many people are affected. Researchers have estimated that there are thousands of forced laborers in agriculture alone. But labor trafficking is widespread in other industries too, including domestic labor, construction, restaurants, and hotels. And the victims can come from all around the world. Some even have graduate degrees.
The issue gets little attention from the government. Law-enforcement officials and policymakers pay a lot of attention to sex trafficking, but they focus less on men and women who are being forced, intimidated, or defrauded into staying in exploitative jobs. That makes it easy for unscrupulous employers to keep workers locked up and hidden away — particularly immigrants who don't speak English and can be threatened with the loss of their legal status.
Read the rest at Vox
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