Understanding Trafficking Law in the Context of Texas and Florida’s Immigrant Relocation
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Human trafficking is a complex and dynamic crime, federally defined as the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit other people through sex or labor for financial or personal gain. Recently, national conversation has focused on trafficking within the context of governors sending migrants seeking asylum in this country to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington, D.C. for the purpose of making a political point.
That trip in itself does not constitute trafficking. Despite popular misconception, trafficking does not require transportation. It is frequently confused with human smuggling, defined as “the importation of people into the United States involving deliberate evasion of immigration laws, and the unlawful transportation and harboring of non-citizens already in the United States.” These are not interchangeable terms.
Reports of fraud, however, are more concerning in the context of trafficking.
Multiple news outlets have reported that migrants who were sent to Martha’s Vineyard were told they were going to be flown to Boston where they had jobs and housing awaiting, or to sanctuary cities because they could “get better help there.” The Washington Post reported migrants receiving unsigned and erroneous guidance telling them to report their whereabouts to the wrong agency within the Department of Homeland Security. These acts of calculated deception were reportedly used to trick migrants onto buses and planes.
https://polarisproject.org/blog/2022/09/understanding-trafficking-law-in-the-context-of-texas-and-floridas-immigrant-relocation/
