The kind of human trafficking people experienced in the past often was decided by the kind of person they were. During the earlier part of the century, women were most often used for sex trafficking - which was and still is the most common form of sex trafficking. Men were used for forced labor. Meanwhile, children were often kidnapped and sold for adoption. And, if you were dead, you probably had your body stolen from a graveyard to put into science.
Up until 1915, one of the most common methods of human trafficking that men were victims of was Shanghaiing. The way it worked was simple. People who needed crewmen for their ships would go to a port city and drug men who were at bars. The men would wake up on the ship - which would often sail to Shanghai. It was illegal up until 1915 for sailors to abandon ship before the journey was over. As a result, the men who were kidnapped were forced to work - often for free.
However, in many cases, indentured servitude still happened. It was still legal in the U.S. until 1917, and it’s basically “slavery via debt.” But, among organized crime groups, it still happened - and happens to this day. All that a group needed to do was get people in debt for drugs or alcohol, and they’d end up being slaves to a gang.
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As recently as 1950, American children were kidnapped from their parents and put up for adoption by orphanages that were paid kickbacks. Up until recently, this was the most common form of human trafficking that children experienced. Because of the way that things were in the U.S., no one knows for sure how many children were adopted illegally.
The El Monte Thai Garment Slavery Case showed that human slavery and forced labor still happens in the US. In 1995, 72 Thai nationals were discovered in a sweatshop based out of El Monte. They were forced to work for free, for up to 22 hours per day. They were not allowed to have breaks, and were considered to be modern indentured servants. After being discovered, they were freed and assisted. All 72 nationals now have U.S. citizenship.
As most old forms of trafficking became illegal, much of the trafficking that began to become a focus dealt with sexual slavery. This has basically stayed the same in many cases. Women who are trafficked by men are often beaten into submission, threatened, blackmailed, or drugged until they do as they are told.
By the 1960s, a major trafficking movement began to emerge with citizenship. Most notably, the movement was happening at the border between Mexico and the U.S. People were paying traffickers to bring them stateside. They became known as “coyotes,” and would often charge huge sums of money for travel across the border. At times, they never actually reached the border - they’d just kill their customers.
An increasingly common form of sex trafficking is one where women from other countries are sold into prostitution here in exchange for citizenship. By the 1960s and 1970s, what many bordello owners began to do was importing women from other countries who wanted citizenship. They would agree to help women get employment and citizenship. When the women came over, they would be forced into sex work. In some cases, women were actually freed and given “green card marriages” after a set amount of years. However, the majority of them never gained freedom from sex slavery.
Technically, staging green card marriages is also considered to be human trafficking - but it’s legal “grey area.” Mail order brides agree to marriage arrangements to get a green card and better opportunities. And, that technically makes it a legal route. What isn’t legal is marrying in exchange for money so someone can gain citizenship. Either way, it’s two sides of the same coin…and it happens quite often today.
In recent years, families who move to the United States have been caught bringing slaves from their old countries. Families who trafficked slaves in often are left ‘off the books” and have their passports taken. They often serve as domestic servants, bonded workers, or in rarer cases, sex slaves. According to a CIA report, around 50,000 women and children are brought into the US for slave annually.
As time progressed, many criminal organizations began to get smarter about how to get more slaves. By 1990, many people had gotten tricked into becoming modern day slaves by fake “work abroad” job offers posted in newspapers. The way it works is simple: once the person actually arrives in the U.S., their passport is confiscated, and they are forced into trafficking.
According to LA Weekly, indentured servitude is quickly becoming a major issue once more. According to the article, many people who are seeking citizenship are becoming indentured servants that work as caretakers to the elderly. Unfortunately, most cops aren’t sure of what to do when they find a trafficking ring. Therefore, they often have to wait for the feds to come in.
Once surgery and organ transplants became popular, another form of trafficking also emerged. And, it’s the stuff of nightmares: organ trafficking. Black market organs are taken from corpses - often regardless of what the corpse died of - and sold to people who are desperate for a transplant.
By the 1980s, stories of people waking up in ice baths without a kidney became the stuff of urban legend. What’s scary is that this isn’t just a rumor. In 2006, a USA Today investigation showed that this is a very high profit form of trafficking - one that many traffickers feel is a “victimless” crime if the person gets paid for their body part. And, it has been known to happen in major cities, with real doctors.
Make no mistake, human trafficking is alive and very well in the US. But, you can help. If you suspect that someone is being trafficked, call the police and tell them what you see. You can also help by volunteering for an anti-slavery group Shared Hope.
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