Human trafficking can happen anywhere—including here in Alaska.
In fact, a 2017 study of 10 North American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto, found that Anchorage had the highest rate of trafficking among the cities studied. [1]
Alaska’s remoteness and lack of law enforcement in rural areas are possible reasons for the higher instances of trafficking and make it harder for victims to seek help after the trafficking has occurred.
In this article, you’ll learn what human trafficking is and how AIJ is helping survivors of trafficking seek justice.
What is Human Trafficking?
Many people think human trafficking involves kidnapping, travel, or crossing a border. However, a person can be trafficked in their own community or even in their own home.
What makes a situation trafficking is that someone is being exploited for labor, services, or commercial sex.
Under federal law, human trafficking generally falls into three categories:
- An adult is made to take part in a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion.
- A child or adult is made to perform labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion.
- A child under age 18 is involved in a commercial sex act. Force, fraud, or coercion does not have to be proven.
“Force, fraud, or coercion” can include violence, threats, lies, blackmail, debt, or other forms of pressure and control.
It’s also important to note that human trafficking is different than human smuggling. Human smuggling is a crime against a country’s sovereignty. Smuggling involves deliberately helping someone cross an international border in violation of that country’s immigration laws. Plus, someone can consent to human smuggling.
No movement is required for human trafficking to occur.
Who Is at Risk for Human Trafficking?
Traffickers often target people who are facing difficult circumstances, including immigrants. This may also include runaway or unhoused youth, survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, people escaping war or conflict, and people facing discrimination.
Traffickers may promise a good job, an education, a safe home, financial stability, or a loving relationship. Later, they may use threats, violence, debt, lies, or isolation to control the person.
Immigrants may face additional risks. A trafficker may take advantage of a person’s limited English, unfamiliarity with U.S. laws, fear of immigration consequences, or dependence on an employer for a work visa.
Some workers also arrive in the U.S. owing large recruitment or travel debts that traffickers use to control them.
It Can Be Hard for Victims to Get Help
Traffickers often make it difficult or dangerous for a survivor to leave. A trafficker may:
- Take away the person’s identification, passport, phone, or money
- Keep the person from speaking with family and friends
- Move the person often or prevent them from knowing where they are
- Threaten the person or someone they love
- Lie about the police, immigration system, or available help
- Force the person to depend on the trafficker for housing, food, transportation, or work
Immigrant victims may also fear deportation.
Because of this control, a survivor may be afraid to ask for help or may not trust people who offer it.
Possible Warning Signs of Human Trafficking
No single sign proves that trafficking is happening. Different people and situations may show different warning signs.
However, someone may need help if they:
Have Unusual Living or Working Circumstances
- Have little freedom and cannot leave or come and go freely
- Work very long or unusual hours
- Are denied breaks or face unusual restrictions
- Live or work in a place with extreme security measures, such as covered windows, bars, fencing, or many cameras
- Were promised one kind of job but were forced to do something different
Have Little or No Control Over Money or Documents
- Are not paid, are paid very little, or are allowed to keep only tips
- Owe a large debt they cannot pay off
- Do not control their own money or bank account
- Do not have access to their ID or passport
- Have few personal belongings
Cannot Speak Freely
- Are not allowed to speak for themselves
- Always have another person present who answers questions for them
- Appear afraid of an employer, partner, or another person
- Are kept away from family, friends, or the community
Show Signs of Harm or Poor Health
- Appear hungry, exhausted, or malnourished
- Show signs of physical or sexual abuse
- Show signs of restraint, confinement, or torture
These signs are only examples. A person does not need to show several warning signs—or any particular sign—to be experiencing trafficking.
If you’re concerned, AIJ has developed these screening questions. They can help you discern if someone may be in danger.
- Do you have access to your identification documents?
- Do you feel safe at work?
- Are you getting paid what you were promised?
- Have you been forced to do things you did not want to do?
Asking these questions can be a window into whether or not someone may need help.
How to Get Help Now
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911.
For confidential help or to report a possible trafficking situation, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline:
- Call 1-888-373-7888
- Text 233733
- Use the live chat at org
The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phone support is available in more than 200 languages.
Legal Help for Immigrant Survivors
Immigrants have several specialized options to help them regain control of their immigration status specifically after experiencing human trafficking.
- T nonimmigrant status, often called a T visa: A temporary immigration protection created for certain survivors of severe forms of human trafficking.
- U nonimmigrant status, often called a U visa: A temporary immigration protection for victims of certain qualifying crimes who have suffered serious physical or mental harm and meet other requirements, including being helpful to law enforcement.
- VAWA self-petition: An option that allows certain survivors of abuse by a qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member to apply for lawful immigration status without the abuser’s knowledge, permission, or involvement.
Understanding T Visas
A T visa may allow an eligible trafficking survivor to remain in the United States temporarily. Certain family members may also qualify.
In general, a person applying must show that they:
- Experienced a severe form of human trafficking
- Are in the United States, a U.S. territory, or at a port of entry because of trafficking
- Would face extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed from the United States
- Cooperated with reasonable requests from law enforcement, unless an exception applies because of age or trauma
- Meet other immigration requirements or qualify for a waiver
A person granted T status may be able to work legally and may later qualify to apply for permanent residence if they meet all requirements.
There is an annual national limit of 5,000 T visas for principal applicants. The limit does not apply to qualifying family members.
Understanding U Visas
A U visa is not limited to trafficking cases. It may be available to eligible victims of certain crimes, including domestic violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, trafficking, and other serious crimes.
In general, a person applying must show that they:
- Were the victim of a qualifying crime
- Suffered substantial physical or mental harm because of the crime
- Have information about the crime
- Were, are, or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting it
A law enforcement agency or another authorized official must usually certify the person’s helpfulness. Certain qualifying family members may also be included. A person granted U status may be able to work legally and may later qualify to apply for permanent residence if they meet all requirements.
Understanding VAWA Self-Petitions
A VAWA self-petition may allow certain survivors of abuse to seek immigration protection without relying on the abusive family member to file on their behalf. Despite its name, the Violence Against Women Act protects eligible survivors of any gender.
In general, a person applying must show that they:
- Have a qualifying relationship with the abusive family member, such as being the spouse or child of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or the parent of an adult U.S. citizen
- Experienced battery or extreme cruelty by that family member
- Lived with the abusive family member at some point
- Meet applicable good moral character requirements
- Meet additional requirements based on the qualifying family relationship, such as showing that a marriage was entered into in good faith
Unlike applicants for U visas, VAWA self-petitioners do not need certification from law enforcement. An approved self-petition may allow a survivor to apply for permanent residence if they meet all requirements. Certain qualifying children or parents may also be included in the process.
Because immigration law is complicated and every case is different, survivors should speak with a qualified immigration attorney or accredited representative before applying.
Contact AIJ
If you think you may be a victim of human trafficking and are seeking help with your immigration status, call AIJ at 907-279-2457.
Seeking help is a personal decision. Survivors deserve to be treated with dignity, believed, and supported as they consider their options.
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