Human Trafficking In The United States

Superior Essays
In 1865, the United States Congress passed a law abolishing slavery. Although overlooked as a modern day concern, slavery is still profound throughout the world in the form of human trafficking. According to the Department of Human Services, human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain (“What is Human”). As a global issue, victims are targeted everywhere from the United States to Nigeria, Nepal, and even India. There are many components that contribute to the unfortunate truth that slavery still occurs. Human trafficking has become an increasingly significant global affair in the world due to factors such as the increase of trafficking, poverty, the effects on victims, …show more content…
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was implemented in the United States to benefit ex-victims and to make their recovery easier. One benefit of this act allows those who help to prosecute traffickers stay in the United States on a “T-Visa.” This gives them nonimmigrant status which is rewarding for those victims because they have the opportunity to obtain careers and work in the country (“Prosecution”). Not only does the T-Visa help obtain careers, but these careers help to ease the victim back into the real world. Easing victims back into the real world and a safe environment is believed to be a crucial part of rehabilitation by the United Nations (“UNODC”). The United Nations helps to protect victims through their recovery by focusing on the physical, social, and psychological aspects (“Human FAQs”). Many additional global organizations are in place to protect victims. For example, Chiang Rai Thailand developed a program call the Development and Education Program for Daughters and Communities which aims to prevent citizens from being forced into trafficking. They focus on fixing the outside pressure such as the lack of opportunity for employment and education, which can drive people into entering trafficking (“Prevention”). The Philippines and Cambodia have both implemented different programs with similar characteristics, both …show more content…
One issue with the prosecution of traffickers is the difficulties involved with capturing them. Civil involvement is encouraged to report potential traffickers because it is difficult for authorities to gather many details, since they remain low on the radar and they often succeed at hiding. They are highly mobile which makes them difficult to track (“Prevention”). Luckily due to more human trafficking laws, victims are gifted with benefits for taking the risk of giving evidence or information on their traffickers (“UNODC”). In the United States the Thirteenth Amendment defends slavery, outlawing trafficking. Additionally, the United States Congress passed an act in 2000 titled the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000” and it is updated every two years. Each state is responsible for enacting its own particular legislation, because the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act” only applies to cases on the federal level (“Current Laws”). Overall, the United States is one of the many countries that has passed particular laws that prohibit trafficking in efforts to reduce efforts made by these

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