Take a look!

The International Justice Mission will be releasing a new movie to spread the word about human trafficking. Please go to the following website to view the trailer. They have launched a great new site to make sure all those participating in the effort to end human trafficking are linked to their website to spread the word even further.

www.AttheEndofSlavery.com

Updates!

Hello! Sorry I haven’t updated my activities in so long! I have been out doing outreach and attending conferences, and have finally found some time to do some updates.

North Texas outreach gave my colleague and I a chance to talk with local farm workers. The watermelon season was just ending in late September, and the pumpkin season was just beginning. We were able to acquire some great labor cases and even a possible human trafficking case. It seems many of the Guatemalan immigrants are treated terribly-not paid, or barely paid, horrible living conditions and twelve hour workdays.  Many of the Guatemalans had already left the area because it is the end of the growing season. I will keep a watch on these areas in the future to monitor their treatment when they come back for the next growing season.

Cactus, TX, of course was out of this world. A town in the middle of nowhere, made up of refugees from around the world! The minute we arrived and began speaking with a group of Mexican men in front of the local convenient store, we had at least one labor and wage claim case to take back and begin working on. Not to mention the other rumors we heard of the exploitation of Guatemalans in the nearby farms.

I was then in El Paso doing outreach and talking with a group of Philippinos from the International Justice Mission. They were visiting for a State Dept. exchange program. They talked about having the same type of problems that we have here in the US, but it seems most of the victims that they see are citizens of the Philippines, not foreign victims. El Paso’s anti-trafficking team work really well together, including law enforcement and social services. It was great to see that!

I was then in Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley where I gave a presentation for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. It was a presentation for the victims services coordinators who work for ICE. It was a rare experience for a social service agency to present on this to a federal agency such as ICE, who are experts in their field. It will be a difficult challenge to figure out a strategic way our attorneys and ICE agents can work together. Baby steps I suppose!

My next plans will be to keep working with the local San Antonio and Austin Coalitions against human trafficking, as well as planning trainings for staff of shelters in the counties surrounding the San Antonio area, and networking with law enforcment and local communities. I will post the next events soon, and update you on the latest events going on in Texas!

Keep reading, as I will try to keep posting more interesting articles and information from my travels and experiences working for TRLA to prevent human trafficking.