Fighting old‐time slavery in modern‐day L.A.

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Content FIGHTING OLD‐TIME SLAVERY IN MODERN‐DAY L.A.      by    Daysha Eaton        A Professional Project Presented to the   FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL  UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA   In Partial Fulfillment of the   Requirements for the Degree  MASTER OF ARTS   (SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)      December 2009                        Copyright 2009              Daysha Eaton        ii    Table of Contents    Abstract                  iii  Host Introduction                1  Fighting Old‐Time Slavery in Modern‐Day L.A.        2                                                iii  Abstract    Although immigration experts say unauthorized flows across the Southern  border have dropped in the current recession, United Nations officials worry  that the global economic recession will create more and more victims of  human trafficking. The State Department estimates that up to 17‐thousand  people are trafficked into the U‐S each year – many via the Southern border.  They say about three quarters of them are women and half are minors.  Activists say human trafficking is modern day slavery – and they say it’s  having a serious impact on immigrants. In 2000 Congress passed the  Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which made human trafficking illegal in  the United States. Since 2005 Police and anti‐trafficking activists have  discovered more than 200 victims in L‐A. But they say there are likely  hundreds more that go unaccounted for. A growing number of activists scour  the streets of L‐A every day, in search of people are still being forced to work  for no pay. They are, in essence, modern‐day abolitionists. This radio  documentary tells their story.                    1  Host Introduction    Since the turn of the 21 st  century, a movement to fight modern‐day slavery  has been growing. One of the places where it has taken root is Los Angeles, a  destination and transit city for human trafficking. The new abolitionists say  their cause is rooted in the abolition movement of the 19 th  century. But  rather than standing up for black African slaves, today’s abolitionists are  fighting for the rights of immigrants from South Asia, Central America and  Mexico who are often led to the U.S. on false promises of legitimate  employment and then forced to work for little or no pay, sometimes in  abusive situations.  Although the new abolitionists have good intentions,  their efforts often seem futile in the face of laws that do not adequately  address this complex crime.                       2  Fighting Old‐Time Slavery In Modern‐Day L.A.    RUBEN NUNO KNOWS THEY’RE HERE, BUT THEY’RE VERY HARD TO FIND.   “We go and speak with people, go to areas that might have  large concentrations of undocumented workers.”  LIKE THE GARMENT DISTRICT, IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.       <<nats horns street>>  NUNO SPENDS A LOT OF TIME HERE … HE HEADS UP THE SALVATION  ARMY’S HUMAN TRAFFICKING DIVISION IN L‐A.  <<nats: Collage of sounds from street>>   TALL MANUFACTURING BUILDINGS LINE THE STREETS … RUNDOWN  SWEATSHOPS SIDE‐BY‐SIDE WITH REMODELLED LOFTS …  <<nat pop from Ruben “We’re just gonna go see if we can  find some people on their lunchbreaks.>>    THE ANTI‐TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT GOT OFF THE GROUND IN LOS  ANGELES IN 1995, WITH THE INFAMOUS EL MONTE SWEAT SHOP BUST.  THAT’S WHEN AUTHORITIES UNCOVERED MORE THAN 70 THAI  TRAFFICKING VICTIMS FORCED TO SEW CLOTHES IN SLAVERY‐LIKE  CONDITIONS FOR MORE THAN *EIGHT YEARS.  1  IT PUT THE ISSUE OF                                                           1  Aug 2005, http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/02/opinion/oe‐scheer2,  May 2009.        3  TRAFFICKING ON THE MAP. EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED THAT IT WAS  ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN THE U‐S.     <<Nat pop from Ruben>>  AS WE WALK PAST STOREFONTS … SELLING EVERTYTHING FROM CD’S  AND CELL  PHONES TO PARAKEETS … STREET VENDERS WEAVE THROUGH  CROWDS RINGING BELLS.    <<Nats street noise to music to parakeets to bells nats>>  “It’s very gritty. We have a mixture of Spanish signs and  old historic signs. You have the Orpheum and you have  Julio’s tacos next to each other. People eating on the side  and selling telephones. It kind of shows you where it was  and where it’s going. You can sense that there’s a lot going  on. Whenever I walk I see these high rise buildings and I  think, ‘what’s going on inside them?”  THIS IS A QUESTION THAT BRINGS NUNO TO THE GARMENT DISTRICT  OFTEN. HE SPENDS A LOT OF HIS TIME DOING WHAT HE CALLS,  ‘OUTREACH.’  “We’re just goona go see if we can find some people on  their lunch breaks. The more we talk to people, the more  we build relationships, the more they may open up.  NUNO BLENDS IN. HE’S TRADED IN HIS OFFICE CLOTHES FOR A  GUAYABERA SHIRT AND A WOOL CAP. WE CHECK OUT A PLACE NUNO HAS  A TIP ABOUT.           4  <<Nats: going up stairs>> Ruben says:‘Salvation Army’  then sewing sounds come up … whistling . .. Ruben says,  ‘that’s what the workers were telling us … it’s the 8 th  floor’  and he talks about street venders.>>  BUT ALL WE FIND ARE ROWS OF CENTRAL AMERICAN WORKERS,  SURROUNDED BY MOUNDS OF BRIGHTLY COLORED FABRIC, STARING  BACK AT US FROM THEIR SEWING MACHINES. NUNO SAYS HE’LL KEEP HIS  EYE ON THE BUILDING.  SEVERAL MILES WEST IN KOREA TOWN ANOTHER DIVISION OF THIS  INFORMAL ANTITRAFFICKING BRIGADE IS DOING THEIR OWN SEARCH  FOR VICTIMS.  CHARITY MARQUIS ‐‐ A FORMAL MODEL TURENED SEX  TRAFFICKING ACTIVIST ‐‐ IS THE LEADER.   “This is our opportunity to engage the city on this issue.”  MARQUIS WORKS FOR NIGHT LIGHT, A NON‐PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT  SPECIFICALLY FOCUSES ON STOPPING SEX TRAFFICKING. IN THE SHADOW  OF EMPTY OFFICE TOWERS SHE GATHERS THE GROUP OF ABOUT A DOZEN  ACTIVISTS AT THE METRO STOP TO SAY A PRAYER BEFORE HEADING OUT.  “Okay it’s 8:29 – so let’s meet back here at 9:30 and we’ve  never hit this end – we’re really between MacArthur Park  and Korea Town. There are quite a few businesses. I’ll pray  and then we’ll split up. Praying.”  MARIQUIS, A SIX‐FOOT TALL BOTTLE BLOND WHO IS SIX MONTHES  PREGNANT, PEEKS HER HEAD INTO A CONVENIENCE STORE, A BEAUTY  PARLOR … A NIGHTCLUB …        5  “You drop these brochures and these posters and you  never know when someone’s goona walk by and grab it  and what they’re goona do with that information. And you  don’t even notice these places until you got out of your car  and walk around.”  BUT SHE ISN’T HAVING MUCH LUCK FINDING VICTIMS EITHER, AND SHE  HAS TO BE CONTENT HANDING OUT BROCHURES.   “Some nights it’s not very eventful. Some nights we come  back with amazing stories of conversations that we had or  something that somebody shared with us about what they  know is going on.”    MARQUIS IS ABOUT TO CALL IT A NIGHT, WHEN SUDDENLY A SHABILY  DRESSED LATINO MAN COMES UP AND WHISPERS THAT HE HAS  INFORMATION SHE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BUT HE CAN’T TALK NOW ...  SHE HANDS HIM A TRAFFICKING BROCHURE WITH A 1‐800 NUMBER  WHERE HE CAN REPORT WHAT HE KNOWS ANONYMOUSLY. HE’S SHIFTY  AND JUST AS QUICKLY AS HE APPEARED, HE’S GONE .  “He said that he knows of a location and had some phone  numbers but then he started to get really nervous, really  uncomfortable … he was concerned that maybe he was  being watched. This area is controlled by gang members.  We’re hoping that we’ll be able to connect with him again  and get the information that he has.”   MARQUIS NEVER CONNECTED WITH THE MAN. HER ONLY HOPE IS THAT  HE CALLED THE TRAFFICKING HOTLINE TO LEAVE A TIP.  THERE ARE DOZENS OF PEOPLE LIKE MARQUIS AND NUNO ALL OVER L‐A,  SEARCHING THE STREETS AND MONITORING HOTLINES. A RECENT        6  REPORT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS  SAYS MOST OF THE TRAFFICKING  VICTIMS THEIR LOOKING FOR COME FROM THAILAND, MEXICO AND  GUATEMALA. 2   ANTONIO MARIA COSTA HEADS UP THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF  DRUGS AND CRIME, DID THE REPORT. HE SAYS PEOPLE LIKE NUNO AND  MARQUIS ARE PART OF A GROWING GLOBAL MOVEMENT TO FIGHT  TRAFFICKING.   “It’s definitely growing, because of the rising global  awareness being built by the united nations legislation, by  the motivation at the national level, by the courageous  effort of ngo’s, religious groups. All of this of course seems  to be introducing, let us say    a culture on the individual  level that the problem has to be fought.”  AT THE SAME TIME AWARENESS IS GROWING, COSTA SAYS TRAFFICKING  IS LIKELY TO SPIKE DUE TO THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN.  “When there are economic and social hardships, especially  the size and spread of today, inevitably this sort of crime  tends to become more serious both driven by demand and  by supply. More people more vulnerable than in the past –  because of having lost a job, having lost a source of income,  having a house. And on the demand side you have  consumers trying to cut costs or reduce the price of the  commodities they or service they buy.”  AND COSTA CAUTIONS AGAINST THE IDEA THAT NON‐PROFITS OR  RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS LIKE THE SALVATION ARMY CAN STOP                                                           2  Feb. 2009, http://www.unodc.org/documents/Global_Report_on_TIP.pdf,  May 2009.        7  TRAFFICKING ALONE. HE SAYS THAT’S BECAUSE OF ALL THE CRIMES THAT  HIS OFFICE WORKS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS THE MOST DIFFICULT.  “I believe that the crime of human trafficking is probably  the most complex to identify, to work with and to fight  because it overlaps with so many other areas. …   AND IT’S A CRIME THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT DEALS WITH  TOO.  “Robbery Homicide, Kimberly, may I help you? Hold on  one second.   THAT’S KIMBERLY AGBONKPOLAR. SHE HEADS UP THE ANTI‐TRAFFICKING  TASK FORCE FOR THE L‐A‐P‐D. THIS MORNING AGBONKPOLAR IS ON THE  PHONE WITH A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT HELPS TRAFFICKING  VICTIMS. HER OFFICERS FOUND A VICTIM OVERNIGHT.  RIGHT NOW U‐S  IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS EFORCEMENT OR ICE IS INTERVIEWING  HER. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TRAFFICKING VICTIM IS AN  UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT. THE KEY TO THE VICTIM GETTING HELP IS  PROVING THEY WERE FORCED INTO THE SITUATION. IN THIS WOMAN’S  CASE SHE SAYS SHE WAS KIDNAPPED.   “She was abducted … um brought her on a boat and  another way. They gave her some false documents to cross  immigration. From her story I guess they took a whole  bunch of girls, not just her. How many?”  THROUGH AN INTERPRETER THEY’VE LEARNED THE 19‐YEAR‐OLD SAYS  SHE IS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT FROM MEXICO.         8   “From what she’s saying a lot of the girls were taken – they  were crying and scared and I guess as they came into this  house they picked and choosed who would work, who  couldn’t work an they just kinda sent her on her way.”  THE POLICE FOUND HER, BAREFOOT IN DOWNTOWN L.A. IN THE POURING  RAIN AGBONKPOLAR SAYS ITS LIKELY A PROSTITUTION RING.   <<Home Depot Parking Lot Nats>>   IN RECENT WEEKS NUNO HAS BROADENED HIS SEARCH BEYOND THE  DOWNTOWN SWEATSHOPS TO THE PARKING LOTS OF PLACES LIKE THE  HOME DEPOT HERE AT THE CORNER OF WILSHIRE AND UNION IN THE  HEART OF LOS ANGELES’S CENTRAL AMERICAN NEIGHOBORHOOD. THAT’S  WHERE HE MET JAVIER. HE SAYS HE WAS TRICKED BY A TRAFFICKER INTO  SIGNING OVER HIS LAND BACK IN GUATEMALA IN ORDER TO PAY FOR  TRANSPORT TO THE U‐S.   (Javier) “Imagínese el tiempo que estamos, eh, a veces nos  desesperamos, nos queremos ir para nuestro país pero  con esa deuda tenemos, ¿a dónde vamos a ir a dar? Si nos  quitan la casa, ¿a dónde vamos a ir a vivir?    (Voiceover) “SOMETIMES WE GET REALLY DESPERATE  AND WE WANT TO GO BACK TO OUR COUNTRY BUT WITH  THIS DEBT THAT WE HAVE, WHERE ARE WE GOING TO  GO? IF THEY TAKE OUR HOUSES AWAY, WHERE ARE WE  GOING TO LIVE?”  JAVIER SIGNED OVER THE DEED TO HIS HOME IN MAZATENAGO SUCH,  GUATEMALA AS COLLATORAL FOR A LOAN TO PAY A SMUGGLING FEE. THE  LOAN HAD A VERY HIGH INTEREST RATE. THE LENDER, WHO HE SAYS IS        9  CONNECTED TO THE TRAFFICKER, IS THREATING TO TAKE HIS HOME AND  KILL HIS FAMILY. DESPERATE FOR HELP WITH HIS SPIRALLING SITUATION  JAVIER OPENED UP TO RUBEN.  (Javier) “Oh, son miles de personas que él ha traído para  acá. Um, miles.”<<butt with>>  “S: Por lo que he visto orita son tres personas que él le ha  embargado ya el terreno.”   (Voiceover) “OH IT’S THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT HE  HAS BROUGHT HERE. THOUSANDS. FOR WHAT I KNOW,  IT’S THREE PERSONS THAT HE HAS TAKEN THEIR LAND  AWAY.”  ONCE RUBEN BEGAN TALKING WITH JAVIER OTHER MEN CAME FORWARD,  LIKE MANUEL WHO IS IN THE SAME SITUATION ‐‐BUT HE CAME TO L‐A  THREE YEARS AGO FROM RURAL SOLOLA, GUATAMLA ‐‐ AND THE  INTEREST ON HIS LOAN IS EVEN HIGHER ‐‐ 20 PERCENT. MANUEL IS  INDIGINOUS MAYA INDIAN. HE SPEAKS QUICHE AND WHAT SPANISH HE  KNOWS HE LEARNED IN CALIFORNIA.   (Manuel fades under) “Uh, como tiena, hay, no, no, no mira  coyote, sólo engachador. Y después ya llegó a mi casa y  dice ”Vamos Manuel, allá, hay, hay dinero, ¿no quiere  diner, dólares?, ¿por cientes?. Allí, allá muchos dólares“   (Voiceover) “I DIDN’T MEET THE TRAFFICKER, ONLY HIS  CONTACT. AND THEN HE CAME TO MY HOUSE AND SAID,  “COME MANUEL, THERE IS MONEY OVER THERE. DON’T  YOU WANT MONEY? DOLLARS? BY THE HUNDREDS?  THERE IS LOT OF DOLLARS OVER THERE.”        10  MANUEL SAYS – DESPERATE TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY, HE SIGNED OVER  THE DEED TO HIS HOUSE TOO AND SIGNED THE CONTRACT, WHICH WAS  WRTITEN IN SPANISH WITH THE ONLY THING HE CAN WRITE – HIS NAME.   NOW HE LIVES IN A SQUALID, ONE ROOM APARTMENT HE SHARES WITH  FIVE OTHER MEN JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM THE HOME DEPOT WHERE  THEY SPEND THEIR DAYS TRYING TO WAVE DOWN DRIVERS TO FIND ODD  JOBS.   (Ruben)“Yeah, he’s in bad situation.”  LATELY MANUEL SAYS HE’S ONLY BEEN ABLE TO SEND HOME ABOUT A  HUNDRED DOLLARS A WEEK AND IT’S JUST NOT ENOUGH.    (Ruben)The trafficker called him yesterday and says, ‘ you  owe me 82,000 quexales ... which is probably around  $9,000 – says you owe me $9,000 in interest, and its better  for you to come back here to Guatemala because I’m goona  kill your family.  AFTER OUR INTERVIEW MANUEL RECEIVED NEWS FROM HIS WIFE THAT  HIS FAMILY HAD BEEN EVICTED FROM THEIR LAND IN SOLOLA.  AFTER  YEARS OF SWINGING HAMMERS, LAYING TILE AND DRYWALLING, MEN  LIKE JAVIER AND MANUEL ARE CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO VERY DIFFICULT  EXISTANCES. IF THEY RETURN TO GUATEMALA, THEY FACE HOMELESS  AND POSSIBLE DEATH. IF THEY REMAIN IN THE U‐S ILLEGIALLY, THEY  MUST ENDURE THE RECESSION AND MAY LOSE THEIR HOMES ANYWAY.        11  “There’s a massive, massive demographic of mainly  Guatemalan males that are here in a form of debt  bondage.”  BUT IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES SEE IT DIFFERENTLY. BECAUSE JAVIER  AND MANUEL DECIDED TO COME TO THE U‐S OF THEIR OWN VOLITION –  EVEN IF THEY WERE TRICKED – THEIR CASES DO NOT MEET THE FEDERAL  REQUIREMENT OF FORCE NECESSARY TO HELP THEM OUT OF THEIR  SITUATION. IF RUBEN DELIVERS THEM TO ICE, THEY WILL JUST BE  DEPORTED.   “And I think the unfortunate thing is that these guys are  preyed upon by guys who, you know, realize that they  don’t know how to read and write and work well with  numbers. You know these guys are farmers you know they  know how to work with the land, they know how to work  with the hammer and this may be what a lot of debt  bondage in America looks like. They’re right her under our  noses – you know they’re right there, standing on the  corner waiting for somebody to pick them up and give  them some work.”  BUT THE LAW CAN’T HELP JAVIER AND MANUEL BECAUSE THEY DON’T  QUITE FIT THE AMERICAN DEFINITION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. AS OF  YET, THERE IS NO UNIVERSALLY AGREED UPON DEFINITION. BUT  ACCORDING TO U‐S LAW, HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS WHEN ONE PERSON  FORCES ANOTHER TO WORK FOR NO PAY BY MEANS OF FORCE, FRAUD OR        12  COERSION. 3  CHARLES SONG, A PROMINENT IMMIGRATION ATTORENY IN  LOS ANGLELES EXPLAINS.  “The UN’s definition focuses on exploitation and not purely  force, whereas the US definition really derives from our  definitions of slavery. I think that’s what makes it a little  bit overly restrictive.”  SONG SAYS THE PROBLEM WITH OUR TRAFFICKING LAW IS THAT IT IS  BASED ON LEGISLATION THAT WAS CREATED TO ADDRESS THE  SITUATIONS AFRICAN SLAVES WOULD HAVE ENCOUNTRED IN THE 1800’S ‐ ‐ NOT TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF 21 ST  CENTURY MIGRATION.  BUT SONG SAYS  A LONG‐TERM SOLLUTION TO TRAFFICKING MUST ADDRESS DEEPER  PROBLEMS.  “Well there’s a lot of talk about how terrible trafficking  and forced labor and slavery is … and there are people  always asking me, ‘well what can we do about it, how can  we help if Trafficking and slavery is such a high priority  for us an is such a terrible thing we need to really look at  the way our immigration laws are set up and the way they  are enforced.”  SONG SAYS AVOIDING COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM IS IN  AFFECT SUPPORTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING.  AND HE SAYS IMMIGRATION  ENFORCEMENT IN THE FORM OF RAIDS COULD ACTUALLY STRENGTHEN  THE HANDS OF THE TRAFFICKERS. IN SOME CASES HE SAYS HE’S SEEN  SLAVEHOLDERS THREATEN THE VICTIMS INTO SUBMISSION BY TELLING                                                           3  May 2005, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/33216.pdf, May  2009.        13  THEM THAT THEY WILL TURN THEM OVER TO IMMIGRATION OR THE  POLICE IF THEY DON’T COOPERATE. AND HE SAYS THAT’S ONE OF THE  REASONS TRAFFICKING VICTIMS DON’T GO TO THE POLICE FOR HELP IN  THE FIRST PLACE. SONG SAYS THIS FEAR MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR  AUTHORITIES TO WORK WITH VICTIMS TO PROSECUTE CASES … AND IT  MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE LOW CONVICTION NUMBERS  ON TRAFFICKING CASES. SINCE THE U‐S TRAFFICKING LAW WAS ADOPTED  EIGHT YEARS AGO, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS SECURED JUST 788  CONVICTIONS.   BUT SONG SAYS THE SYSTEM WE HAVE IN PLACE IS A START. MEANTIME  THE TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT IS BUILDING … IN SOME UNEXPECTED  PLACES.  <<nats of hostel lobby, pool>>  LIKE THIS YOUTH HOSTEL ON MELROSE AVENUE. THAT’S WHERE A GROUP  OF YOUNG TRAFFICKING ACTIVISTS ARE CAMPED OUT FOR A WEEK IN L‐A.  THEY’VE BEEN TRAVELLING AROUND THE CITY LEARNING ABOUT SOCIAL  ISSUES, INCLUDING TRAFFICKING.  <<nats from kids: “we went here and there.”  THESE KIDS ARE PART OF FACELESS INTERNATIONAL, A HUMANITARIAN  GROUP BASED IN NASHVILLE, TENESSEE THAT SEES FIGHTING HUMAN  TRAFFICKING AS PART OF A LARGER MOVEMENT TO STOP THE        14  EXPLOITATION OF PEOPLE – MANY OF WHOM ARE IMMIGRANTS. CECILIA  ALFONZO CAME ALL THE WAY TO L‐A FROM GREENVILLE NORTH  CAROLINA. WHILE IN L‐A SHE VISITED A SHELTER FOR TRAFFICKING  VICTIMS AND SAW A FILM ABOUT SEX TRAFFICKING.  “It ended with her looking out the window of the bedroom  that she had just been raped in and she saw an American  flag and she was in the midst of this big city and she  realized she was in America.”  THE KIDS SAY THE TRIP MADE AN IMPRESSION ON THEM.  (reporter: “And how do you guys feel … do you feel like  you’re goona go back and start something where you’re  from? ) Heck yeah! Five minutes after … I updated my  facebook status from my phone and I was like I’m goona go  home and give presentations cause that was amazing.”  21‐YEAR‐OLD ANDREW BEEKLER, FROM MINNEAPOLIS, SAYS THE TRIP  CHANGED HIS PERSPECTIVE.  “I’ve always known that human trafficking exists … but  coming here, I’ve realized that it is much more prevalent  in the the united states than I’d originally thought. You  know you always kinda think that its something that  happens in Africa or in Asia or the Ukraine.   AND HE SAYS IT MADE HIM WANT TO TAKE ACTION.  So being aware that it’s here, it’s time that as youth and as  the future of our country it’s time for us to take a stand  against it and demand that our politicians, the people that  we have elected they know what we want done.   WHAT EXACTLY POLITICIANS WILL DO ABOUT TRAFFICKING IS YET TO BE  SEEN.  IN LOS ANGELES, I’M DAYSHA EATON REPORTING.

Asset Metadata

Creator Eaton, Daysha (author)

Core Title Fighting old‐time slavery in modern‐day L.A.

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Broadcast Journalism)

Degree Conferral Date 2009-12

Publication Date 09/28/2009

Defense Date 06/06/2009

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag American studies,Daysha Eaton,debt bondage,human trafficking,immigration,Law,Los Angeles,OAI-PMH Harvest

Place Name Los Angeles (counties)

Language English

Advisor Tolan, Sandy (committee chair), Banet-Weiser, Sarah (committee member), Smith, Erna (committee member)

Creator Email dayshaea@usc.edu,dayshaeaton@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m2621

Unique identifier UC1504070

Identifier etd-Eaton-3194 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-251330 (legacy record id),usctheses-m2621 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Eaton-3194.pdf

Dmrecord 251330

Document Type Project

Rights Eaton, Daysha

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email uscdl@usc.edu

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Although immigration experts say unauthorized flows across the Southern border have dropped in the current recession, United Nations officials worry that the global economic recession will create more and more victims of human trafficking. The State Department estimates that up to 17-thousand people are trafficked into the U-S each year – many via the Southern border. They say about three quarters of them are women and half are minors. Activists say human trafficking is modern day slavery – and they say it’s having a serious impact on immigrants. In 2000 Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which made human trafficking illegal in the United States. Since 2005 Police and anti-trafficking activists have discovered more than 200 victims in L-A. But they say there are likely hundreds more that go unaccounted for. A growing number of activists scour the streets of L-A every day, in search of people are still being forced to work for no pay. They are, in essence, modern-day abolitionists. This radio documentary tells their story.