The Refugee Influx - Victims Of Trafficking And Violence

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA; PL 106-386) makes victims of severe forms of trafficking eligible for benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. In addition, the law attempts to identify and prosecute traffickers. Traffickers force their victims into the international sex trade, prostitution, slavery, and forced labor through coercion, threats of physical violence, psychological abuse, torture, and imprisonment. The United Nations estimates that trafficking generated $7-10 billion annually for traffickers (Sara L. Gottovi, "Sex Trafficking of Minors: International Crisis, Federal Response," Child Protection, Exploitation, and Obscenity, vol. 52, no. 2, March 2004).

Trafficking victims who meet requirements can be authorized to remain temporarily in the United States as potential witnesses. Victims can also apply for a T visa, which will allow them to remain for three years and then apply for lawful permanent residence. Victims who are age eighteen and over have to be certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). To receive a certification, adult victims have to make a bona fide application for a T visa or be an individual whose continued presence is necessary to assist the Attorney General in prosecuting traffickers. Child victims under age eighteen do not require certification.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA; PL 108-179) mandates informational awareness campaigns and created a new civil action provision that allowed victims to sue their traffickers in federal district court. It also requires an annual report to Congress on the results of U.S. government activities to combat trafficking.

Visa Applications and Prosecutions Related
to Trafficking

According to the Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2004 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, June 2004), in FY 2003 there were 601 applications for T visas filed: 297 approved, 30 denied, and the rest were pending. In fiscal years 2001 through 2003 the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney's Office initiated prosecution of 110 traffickers and secured 78 convictions and/or guilty pleas.

The June 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report issued by the Department of State estimates that 800,000 to 900,000 persons, primarily women and children, were trafficked across international borders annually. Approximately 18,000 to 20,000 of those victims were trafficked into the United States along with an unknown number of men.

Monitoring Foreign Governments

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA) require the U.S.

TABLE 4.10
Tier placements, trafficking in persons, 2004
SOURCE: "Tier Placements," in Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State, June 14, 2004, http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2004/33187.htm (accessed March 3, 2005)

Tier 1
Australia	France	Macedonia	Spain
Austria	Germany	Morocco	Sweden
Belgium	Ghana	The Netherlands	Taiwan
Canada	Hong Kong	New Zealand	United Kingdom
Colombia	Italy	Norway
Czech Republic	Republic of Korea	Poland
Denmark	Lithuania	Portugal
Tier 2
Afghanistan	Cameroon	Kyrgyz Republic	Saudi Arabia
Albania	Chile	Latvia	Singapore
Angola	China	Lebanon	Slovak Republic
Argentina	Costa Rica	Malaysia	Slovenia
Armenia	Egypt	Mali	South Africa
Bahrain	El Salvador	Mauritius	Sri Lanka
Belarus	Finland	Moldova	Switzerland
Benin	The Gambia	Mozambique	Togo
Bosnia/Herz	Guinea	Nepal	United Arab Emirates
Brazil	Hungary	Nicaragua	Uganda
Bulgaria	Indonesia	Niger	Ukraine
Burkina Faso	Iran	Panama	Uzbekistan
Burundi	Israel	Romania
Cambodia	Kuwait	Rwanda
Tier 2 watch list
Azerbaijan	Georgia	Malawi	Serbia-Montenegro
Belize	Greece	Mauritania	Suriname
Bolivia	Guatemala	Mexico	Tajikstan
Democratic Republic of Congo	Honduras	Nigeria	Tanzania
Côte d'Ivoire	India	Pakistan	Thailand
Croatia	Jamaica	Paraguay	Turkey
Cyprus	Japan	Peru	Vietnam
Dominican Republic	Kazakhstan	Philippines	Zambia
Estonia	Kenya	Qatar	Zimbabwe
Ethiopia	Laos	Russia
Gabon	Madagascar	Senegal
Tier 3
Bangladesh	Ecuador	North Korea	Venezuela
Burma	Equatorial Guinea	Sierra Leone
Cuba	Guyana	Sudan
Note: Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guyana, and Sierra Leone were updated to tier 2 watch list per President George W.Bush, Presidential Determination No. 2004-46, September 10, 2004

Department of State to monitor the efforts of foreign governments to eliminate trafficking. The Trafficking in Persons Report 2004, published by the U.S. Department of State, identified governments in full compliance with TVPA (Tier I), governments in compliance with minimum standards of TVPA (Tier II), governments that have shown positive efforts toward minimum compliance (Tier II Watch List), and those countries that have not taken serious action to stop trafficking (Tier III). (See Table 4.10.) In September 2004 President Bush announced sanctions against those countries on the Tier III list.