Tuesday, January 15, 2008
[IWS] CRS: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: U.S. POLICY & ISSUES FOR CONGRESS [10 January 2008]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL34317
Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress
January 10, 2008
Clare Ribando Seelke, Analyst in Latin American Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Alison Siskin, Specialist in Immigration Policy, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34317_20080110.pdf
[full-text, 56 pages]
Summary
Trafficking in people for prostitution and forced labor is one of the most prolific
areas of international criminal activity and is of significant concern to the United
States and the international community. The overwhelming majority of those
trafficked are women and children. According to the most recent Department of
State estimates, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. If
trafficking within countries is included in the total world figures, official U.S.
estimates are that some 2 to 4 million people are trafficked annually. However, there
are even higher estimates, ranging from 4 to 27 million for total numbers of forced
or bonded laborers. As many as 17,500 people are believed to be trafficked to the
United States each year. Human trafficking is now a leading source of profits for
organized crime syndicates, together with drugs and weapons, generating billions of
dollars. Trafficking in persons affects virtually every country in the world.
Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of
2000 (P.L. 106-386), the Administration and Congress have aimed to address the
human trafficking problem. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
of 2005 (TVPRA), which President Bush signed into law on January 10, 2006 (P.L.
109-164), authorized appropriations for FY2006 and FY2007.
The State Department issued its seventh congressionally mandated Trafficking
in Persons (TIP) Report on June 12, 2007. Each report categorizes countries into
four tiers according to the government's efforts to combat trafficking. Those
countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) have been
made subject to U.S. sanctions since 2003. Sixteen countries were placed on Tier 3
in the 2007 report. On October 18, 2007, President Bush imposed new trafficking
in persons related sanctions on Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and
Venezuela.
In the 110th Congress, there are several bills with trafficking-related provisions.
The Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-
53) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide specified funding and
administrative support to strengthen the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.
H.R. 3887 (Lantos), approved by the House on December 4, 2007 by a vote of 405-2,
would, among other provisions, reauthorize anti-trafficking programs through
FY2011, and amend the criminal code and immigration law related to trafficking.
It is likely to be considered by the Senate early in the second session of the 110th
Congress. Another bill, H.R. 2522 (Lewis), would establish a Commission to
evaluate the effectiveness of current U.S. anti-slavery efforts, including antitrafficking
in persons programs, and make recommendations. S. 1703 (Durbin),
approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 20, 2007, would create
additional jurisdiction in U.S. courts for trafficking offenses occurring in other
countries. This report will be updated periodically to reflect major developments.
Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Trafficking and Alien Smuggling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Scope of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Causes of Rise in Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Traffickers and Their Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Regional Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Asia and the Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
U.S. Funding for Global Anti-Trafficking Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Trafficking in Persons Report, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2007 Country Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Focus on Forced Labor Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Results from the 2007 TIP Ranking and Sanctions Process . . . . . . . . 17
The International Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish TIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Other Relevant International Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
U.N. and Related Agencies' Anti-Trafficking Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Other Regional Organizations and International Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) . . . . . . 20
Trafficking into the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Official Estimates of Human Trafficking into the United States . . . . . . . . . 21
Response to Trafficking within the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Immigration Relief for Trafficking Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
T Nonimmigrant Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Continued Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
U Nonimmigrant Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Aid Available to Victims of Trafficking in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Health and Human Services Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Department of Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Domestic Investigations of Trafficking Offenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Legislation in the 110th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2007, H.R. 3887 (Lantos) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Policy Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
How to Collect Data and Measure Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Credibility of TIP Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sanctions: A Useful Tool? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Equal Focus on all Types of Trafficking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Debates Regarding Prostitution and Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Issues Concerning Immigration Relief for Trafficking Victims . . . . . . . . . 37
Stringency of T Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Tool of Law Enforcement or Aid to Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Victims' Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Appendix A. Anti-Trafficking Administrative Directive and Legislation . . . . . . 40
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 . . . . . . . 41
The Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 . . . . . . . 44
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004 . . . . . . . . 44
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 . . . . . . . 44
Appendix B. Trafficking Funding Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appendix C. Information on Domestic Grant Programs for TIP Victims . . . . . 52
List of Figures
Figure 1. Global Anti-TIP Obligations by Agency, FY2005 and FY2006 . . . . . 12
Figure 2. FY2006 Global Anti-TIP Obligations, Regional Distribution . . . . . . . 14
List of Tables
Table 1. T-visas Issued: FY2002 through FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 2. Authorizations to Implement Victims of Trafficking Act, FY2001-FY2011 . . . . . 47
Table 3. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as Amended Authorizations and Appropriations, FY2001-2007 . . . . . . 51
Table 4. Authorizations and Appropriations for Grant Programs to Assist Victims of Trafficking in the United States: FY2001 FY2008 . . . . . . . 52
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Order Code RL34317
Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress
January 10, 2008
Clare Ribando Seelke, Analyst in Latin American Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Alison Siskin, Specialist in Immigration Policy, Domestic Social Policy Division
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34317_20080110.pdf
[full-text, 56 pages]
Summary
Trafficking in people for prostitution and forced labor is one of the most prolific
areas of international criminal activity and is of significant concern to the United
States and the international community. The overwhelming majority of those
trafficked are women and children. According to the most recent Department of
State estimates, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. If
trafficking within countries is included in the total world figures, official U.S.
estimates are that some 2 to 4 million people are trafficked annually. However, there
are even higher estimates, ranging from 4 to 27 million for total numbers of forced
or bonded laborers. As many as 17,500 people are believed to be trafficked to the
United States each year. Human trafficking is now a leading source of profits for
organized crime syndicates, together with drugs and weapons, generating billions of
dollars. Trafficking in persons affects virtually every country in the world.
Since enactment of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of
2000 (P.L. 106-386), the Administration and Congress have aimed to address the
human trafficking problem. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
of 2005 (TVPRA), which President Bush signed into law on January 10, 2006 (P.L.
109-164), authorized appropriations for FY2006 and FY2007.
The State Department issued its seventh congressionally mandated Trafficking
in Persons (TIP) Report on June 12, 2007. Each report categorizes countries into
four tiers according to the government's efforts to combat trafficking. Those
countries that do not cooperate in the fight against trafficking (Tier 3) have been
made subject to U.S. sanctions since 2003. Sixteen countries were placed on Tier 3
in the 2007 report. On October 18, 2007, President Bush imposed new trafficking
in persons related sanctions on Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and
Venezuela.
In the 110th Congress, there are several bills with trafficking-related provisions.
The Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-
53) directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide specified funding and
administrative support to strengthen the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.
H.R. 3887 (Lantos), approved by the House on December 4, 2007 by a vote of 405-2,
would, among other provisions, reauthorize anti-trafficking programs through
FY2011, and amend the criminal code and immigration law related to trafficking.
It is likely to be considered by the Senate early in the second session of the 110th
Congress. Another bill, H.R. 2522 (Lewis), would establish a Commission to
evaluate the effectiveness of current U.S. anti-slavery efforts, including antitrafficking
in persons programs, and make recommendations. S. 1703 (Durbin),
approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 20, 2007, would create
additional jurisdiction in U.S. courts for trafficking offenses occurring in other
countries. This report will be updated periodically to reflect major developments.
Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Trafficking and Alien Smuggling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Scope of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Causes of Rise in Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Traffickers and Their Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Regional Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Asia and the Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
U.S. Funding for Global Anti-Trafficking Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Trafficking in Persons Report, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2007 Country Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Focus on Forced Labor Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Results from the 2007 TIP Ranking and Sanctions Process . . . . . . . . 17
The International Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish TIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Other Relevant International Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
U.N. and Related Agencies' Anti-Trafficking Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Other Regional Organizations and International Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
European Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) . . . . . . 20
Trafficking into the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Official Estimates of Human Trafficking into the United States . . . . . . . . . 21
Response to Trafficking within the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Immigration Relief for Trafficking Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
T Nonimmigrant Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Continued Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
U Nonimmigrant Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Aid Available to Victims of Trafficking in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Health and Human Services Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Department of Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Domestic Investigations of Trafficking Offenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Legislation in the 110th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2007, H.R. 3887 (Lantos) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Policy Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
How to Collect Data and Measure Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Credibility of TIP Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Sanctions: A Useful Tool? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Equal Focus on all Types of Trafficking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Debates Regarding Prostitution and Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Issues Concerning Immigration Relief for Trafficking Victims . . . . . . . . . 37
Stringency of T Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Tool of Law Enforcement or Aid to Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Victims' Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Appendix A. Anti-Trafficking Administrative Directive and Legislation . . . . . . 40
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 . . . . . . . 41
The Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 . . . . . . . 44
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004 . . . . . . . . 44
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 . . . . . . . 44
Appendix B. Trafficking Funding Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Appendix C. Information on Domestic Grant Programs for TIP Victims . . . . . 52
List of Figures
Figure 1. Global Anti-TIP Obligations by Agency, FY2005 and FY2006 . . . . . 12
Figure 2. FY2006 Global Anti-TIP Obligations, Regional Distribution . . . . . . . 14
List of Tables
Table 1. T-visas Issued: FY2002 through FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 2. Authorizations to Implement Victims of Trafficking Act, FY2001-FY2011 . . . . . 47
Table 3. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as Amended Authorizations and Appropriations, FY2001-2007 . . . . . . 51
Table 4. Authorizations and Appropriations for Grant Programs to Assist Victims of Trafficking in the United States: FY2001 FY2008 . . . . . . . 52
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 12:45 PM
