Immigration agents and human trafficking
Posted by yabastablog on September 22, 2009
Working in the field of human trafficking we sometimes get so down about our relationship with Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency, (ICE). It is rare to find an agent that will take the time to do the investigative work before putting our client into deportation proceedings. A lot of times they assume our clients are lying about their situation, or they feel the client is not giving them enough information to help them make a case. Instead of doing what they can to help the victim, which is their job as a victim services agent, they decide it isn’t worth it and deport our clients.
This puts our attorneys under a ton of pressure to find another way to get help for their client. They have to go through another federal agency that is usually linked to ICE anyway. Our attorneys have been able to obtain T Visas for our clients, but through the Department of Justice, which ended up being quite a bit longer process. It also took a lot more court dates, which added even more bureaucracy to the process.
So, when you read the following article, know that this ICE agent is the exception. She went above and beyond for a case that most agents and DA offices do not prioritize–a human trafficking case. The penalities for traffickers are still too light and most attorneys do not feel they can get the best results using the human trafficking laws.
Read this heartening article about a Philadelphia agent who put the human trafficking laws to work.
