Prevention of Slavery and Trafficking

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) celebrates January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Slavery and human trafficking continue to be persistent and deeply embedded problems across the globe, as many countries actively practice slavery and traffic human beings, often for sexual slavery. Slavery did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 or any other 19^th century declaration or law. There are actual more slaves in the world today than there were in the 19^th century. Slaves have played prominent roles in the building and maintenance of many empires, notably the Roman Empire, in which slaves vastly outnumbered citizens. Slavery should be an antique relic of history and utterly abolished. The international community has scorned against slavery and trafficking and multiple organizations have taken multifaceted approaches to combat these odious practices.

There are options in the United States for victims of trafficking, criminal activities, and domestic violence. The amended Trafficking Victims and Protection Act in 2008 created the U and T visas. Although there remain some issues with these visas, such as no work authorization during their pending periods and low cap numbers, the U and T visas provide an avenue for many non citizens to obtain non-immigrant status. For the U visa, a person must have been the victim of a qualifying crime. Three more qualifying crimes are expected to be added to the list as part of President Obama’s executive action, but Notario Fraud is not expected to be among them. T visas are for victims of human trafficking. These are not green cards but can lead to permanent residency.

As Martin Luther King Jr Day is celebrated this time of year and we remember his legacy, let us remember that all human beings are born with equal dignity and deserve the opportunity to live with that dignity.