Summary
of Human Trafficking in Minnesota
Human trafficking continues
to be a tremendous problem in Minnesota. Minnesota is listed as one
of the top states for trafficking and our statistics support that finding.
Civil Society uses the
federal definition of trafficking when determining whether or not an
individual is a victim of human trafficking. We have encountered well
over one hundred victims in recent years. We found our first trafficking
victim in 1998 and helped her under the laws existing at that time.
Civil Society works with
the U.S. Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement and ICE in raids
upon brothels. In these raids, the role of Civil Society is to
protect the human trafficking victims and provide for their needs.
Civil Society provides
for the safety planning, shelter, medical, dental, and psychological
care of the victims of human trafficking, as well as providing legal,
ESL and vocational counseling for victims of human trafficking.
The fact that Civil Society can provide these services in a culturally
and language appropriate manner under its DOJ grant and under its USCCB
contract attract many victims to take the risk to come forward.
Civil Society is finding
more and more child victims of human trafficking. These children
include:
Children brought
in under fraudulent visas for sexual exploitation;
Children who
are brought in by visa and sexually exploited who are falsely shown
to be adults on their documents even they are still under 18, often
as young as 13 (this is a particular problem that we are working with
U.S. Senator Coleman’s office who is negotiating with Southeast Asian
countries to stop this rampant problem);
We were given
a tip yesterday that children being adopted by through some adoption
agencies from orphanages in Liberia are not actually orphans and are
found as a result of recruiters.
Children who
are sexually exploited after being brought in as the children of mail
order brides;
Children smuggled
in for labor;
Children smuggled
in with their parents and then sexually exploited in the labor camps.
Children who
affected by the terror of trafficking when they witness exploitation
of their parent
Civil Society is finding
a significant amount of bride trafficking by the exploding industry
of International Marriage Brokers and provides for the safety, shelter,
medical dental, food, incidentals, and legal needs of these victims.
We are finding bride trafficking occurring where the bride is forced
into slaveryby a relative of the spouse, and where the bride was sold
to another person for sexual exploitation. This seems to occur very
often in the cases of victims from the Philippians and Dominican Republic.
We have encountered victims where the people seeking the mail order
bride (and often her children) are convicted child molesters and have
brought the woman into the U.S. because they wanted to molest her son
or daughter.
Female victims brought
in by International Marriage Brokers tend to be in their 20's and 30's.
These women comprise about one third of total international victims.
As for labor trafficking,
the industries where we have found forced labor trafficking victims
includerestaurants, domestic servitude, retail, manufacturing, farming,
cleaning services, nursing care, laundry, and other areas.The victims
are fairly evenly split between men and women in this area. These victims
comprise over one third of the total international victims we have found.
We've also encountered
multiple victims of credit trafficking where the victim's credit and
finances are exploited. Women from India and other countries are
married and brought in by men in order to get the dowry from the brides’
parents. After they get the dowry, they abandon the brides in the United
States and go back and get another “bride”.
We have encountered many
victims of international rings, which engage in sex trafficking. These
victims are generally are woman who areforced to workin brothels/massage
parlors. They comprise about aquarter of the international victims.
The countries from which
victims have come include the following: Mexico, Philippines, Thailand,
Somali, Bangladesh, Guyana, Cambodia, Russia, China, Singapore, Zambia,
Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Korea, Laos, India, Portugal,
Romania, Ukraine, Kenya, Taiwan, Fiji, Egypt, Venezuela, Japan, Nicaragua,
Haiti, Pakistan, Honduras, South African, Liberia, Uruguay, Canada,
Sudan, Chad, Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Kazakhstan.
We have many documented
cases of domestically sex trafficked women and girls as well. These
women range in age from low teens to 40's. The majority is in their
upper teens and 20's. These casesoften involve street prostitution,
saunas and bars. Many of these victims are exploited by street
gangs.
Human trafficking is
pervasive in this region and we are learning of new cases on a nearly
daily basis.
Here are some stories
illustrative of the cases that Civil Society has been seeing.
SUCCESS STORY 1
In the fall of 2006, a Doula (a Doula
is a trained professional who assists with the pregnancy and birth with
emotional support) was assisting a young female Spanish speaking trafficking
victim from another country through her pregnancy. The Doula was
providing the victim with emotional support to prepare her for her upcoming
labor. The victim became comfortable with the Doula, and began to tell
the Doula about her life. As the Doula listened to the victim’s story
she began to suspect that the victim was a victim of human trafficking.
The Doula had previously attended human trafficking outreach presentations
hosted by Civil Society with her mother who is an Outreach Specialist
with Civil Society. The Doula convinced the victim to speak with
a Civil Society attorney about her situation. The victim agreed,
after she was assured that she would be kept safe from her trafficker.
The victim reported to the attorney that her mother was still in her
home country and that her mother suffered from mental illness and was
unable to care for her children. A female trafficker in her neighborhood
of her home country offered to take the victim from her mother.
The trafficker promised to adopt her and take good care of her.
Instead the trafficker began to rent the victim out as a slave to other
families. The trafficker also was very abusive and would beat
the victim and sometimes lock her in the bathroom for days at a time.
Eventually, the trafficker brought the victim into the United States.
The trafficker continued to rent the victim out as a servant to other
families in the United States. The trafficker also continued to
beat the victim. When the victim was 15 year old, she escaped
from her trafficker and met an older man who became her boyfriend.
The man impregnated the victim. During the relationship, the man was
horribly abusive and would beat the victim. The victim became
pregnant. When victim was almost nine months pregnant the man
became upset with the victim and punched her so hard in the face that
he broke several of her teeth. The victim was able to escape and
a woman from her home country who lives in United States took her in
her home to care for her. The Doula brought her to Civil Society.
One week later, she went into labor and had a healthy baby. Civil
Society assisted her in scheduling the medical services. Civil
Society also was able to secure dental services so that the victim’s
teeth could be repaired. Civil Society attorneys are assisting
the victim with immigration matters. At the urging of the Civil Society
attorney, the county has also investigated and certified that the woman
who is currently caring for the victim and her baby is a safe placement
for the victim and her baby. A Civil Society case manager has
been assigned to the victim’s case. The case manager has made
arrangements with a volunteer, who is a certified ESL teacher with the
St. Paul Public School System, to go to the victim’s home and provide
ESL services to the victim. The volunteer has also assisted the
victim in locating a school that she can attend with her baby when the
baby is old enough so that the victim can get an education and become
self-sufficient. The volunteer has also assisted the victim in
obtaining a birth certificate and social security card for her child.
The case manager has also made arrangements for the victim to undergo
a psychological evaluation to determine if services are needed.
Civil Society has also provided translation, interpretation and transportation
services to the victim. Civil Society will continue to work with
the victim as long as necessary to assure that she is safe from her
trafficker.
SUCCESS STORY 2
A Civil Society subcontractor who has
been outreaching to the Somali community had contact with a mentally
disabled 20 year old female Somali victim who reported that she was
in need of assistance with an identity theft issue. After hearing
some of her story, the subcontractor believed that she should speak
with a Civil Society attorney to determine if she was a victim of human
trafficking. The victim met the attorney at one of the Civil Society
human trafficking screening clinics. The victim reported that
approximately two years ago she was having difficulties with her family.
Another woman in the community, who was familiar with her home life,
approached the victim and offered to let victim live in her home with
her and her children. The victim agreed. When she moved
into the other woman’s home, the woman locked the victim into the
home and would not let her leave. The trafficker was abusive and
threatening to the victim and forced the victim to care for her children
without pay. The trafficker also forced the victim to sell Khat,
an illegal substance. The trafficker also stole the victim’s
identity and used it to collect government benefits for herself.
The victim remained a prisoner for over two years. The victim
was finally able to make contact with someone who helped her escape
and reunite with her own family. After the victim escaped, the
trafficker continued to harass her and threaten her and the victim became
very afraid for her life. The Civil Society attorneys are assisting
the victim with her victimization issues, including sorting out the
identity theft issues. They have accompanied the victim to the police
department so that she can report what happened to her. Unfortunately,
because the victim is mentally disabled, she is unable to recall sufficient
detail to assist the police at this time. However, the Civil Society
attorney is working with her to piece together what happened and collect
documentation to support her claim. The attorneys have also helped
the victim obtain a Harassment Restraining Order and helped the victim
report the violations of the Harassment Restraining Order as the trafficker
continues to harass the victim and ignores the Order. The attorneys
have also spoken to the victim about the availability of psychological
counseling and vocational counseling as the victim is learning disabled,
at this point the victim is not ready to seek the services offered.
The immigration attorney is also assisting the victim in immigration
matters. It is hoped that when she is ready, the victim will accept
the services she feels she needs, thus enabling her to become self sufficient
and safe from her trafficker.
SUCCESS STORY 3
A woman originally from Portugal sought
assistance at a Civil Society trafficking screening clinic with an immigration
issue. The woman reported that she was brought to the United States
in 1977 as a 10-year old trafficked child and then formally adopted
by a Mormon family. The woman reported that the family abused
her horribly and she ran away from them when she was 15. She began
living on the streets and entered a life of prostitution and drug abuse.
She has been arrested many times and has a criminal history. The woman
has worked hard to turn her life around and is now clean and supporting
herself and her young child. The woman reported that she has no
documents and cannot prove her immigration status. She is very
concerned that she could be deported. She knows that the family
formally adopted her, but she does not have any paperwork to prove it,
and she has no contact at all with the abusive family that she ran away
from. The Civil Society attorney is working with a Minnesota Senator’s
office to help the woman get the proper documentation so that she can
continue to remain in the United States and support herself and her
daughter.
SUCCESS STORY 4
A Russian woman was seeking assistance
with a situation that cause her to feel that she was being mistreated
by law enforcement and prosecutors. After initial conversations with
the woman it was determined that she was a victim of human trafficking.
The woman reported that she was a mail order bride from Russia.
She reported that her American husband had physically and emotionally
abused her since she moved to this country to live with him. She said
he and her work and care for his children. She felt that she was
brought here as a nanny with no pay. After one very severe beating,
the neighbors her heard the disturbance contacted the police.
She reported that the police took her information and arrested her husband
who was eventually charged with domestic assault. The woman reported
that her husband was released from jail and pled not guilty to the charges.
A jury trial was scheduled. She stated that her husband was a
prominent figure in their small community and hired a well-known attorney.
Her husband and his attorney did everything they could to discredit
her, even finding other Russian immigrants who contacted the prosecutor
to say that she made the whole story up. After the witnesses spoke
to the prosecutor, he contacted the woman and asked her to come to his
office to speak with him about the case. The prosecutor told her
that she may want to consider agreeing to dismiss the case, as it was
unlikely that her husband would have been found guilty. Following
the meeting with the prosecutor, the woman was very upset that her husband
would not receive a consequence for his crime and also was afraid what
would happen to her if she did not agree to dismiss the case.
She was also worried about any immigration consequences that she may
face if she testified at trial. The Civil Society attorney explained
her rights to her and also explained the trial procedure. She
reassured the woman that the most important thing she could do to assure
a successful prosecution of the case was to tell the truth. She
further encouraged the woman to do what she felt was best, not matter
what the prosecutor’s recommendations. After speaking with the
Civil Society attorney, the woman contacted the prosecutor to inform
him that she wanted to go forward with the case. The woman testified
at trial with confidence. The husband was found guilty and sentenced
to jail and anger counseling.
SUCCESS STORY 5
A Hispanic immigrant contacted Civil
Society’s 24-hour crisis line and tip line to report suspicious activity
that he felt could possibly be defined as human trafficking. The
man reported that he learned about the tip line after watching Civil
Society’s documentary entitled “Hope for Human Trafficking Victims”
on public television. The man said that after seeing an ad for
employment aimed at Latinos, he went to apply for a job at the Buy More
Mercada store. He interviewed with the manager and was told that
he would not be hired. Following his rejection, the man spoke
with other employees at the store who informed him that the store only
hires illegal immigrants. The man further indicated that while
he was at the store, he got the impression that the employees who worked
there were not treated well and he felt that he should take action to
assure that the matter was corrected. Therefore the man contacted
the tip line because after watching the documentary he felt that we
would be able to do something to protect those employees. After speaking
with our tip line, the man agreed to speak with the police about what
he observed. The police are currently following up on the information.