Immigrant workers can face various negative situations such as labor trafficking, which is more recurrent in the agricultural sector.
Farmers in the United States are one of the groups of workers who suffer from the greatest injustices. The agriculture industry is the one that registers the largest number of complaints of labor trafficking in the country. Labor trafficking in this sector uses fraudulent techniques to force people to work against their will and without respecting their rights as workers.
During the last five years, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported around 5,000 possible victims of labor trafficking in the agricultural sector. Although it is a problem at the national level, the main victims of labor trafficking come from Latin American and Caribbean countries, according to Polaris, a non-profit organization that assists victims of trafficking.
Likewise, it is not a situation that affects only a specific group of immigrants such as the undocumented immigrant community, but also people who obtained a temporary work permit.
Here is a series of important signs or alerts to identify if an employer may be committing labor trafficking:
- In the case of undocumented workers, the employer may threaten to report their presence in the country to immigration authorities. Which you can use as blackmail to force them to do forced labor.
- Threatens to hurt family and loved ones.
- Wage withholding.
- Threats with the destruction or retention of documents, to prevent workers from moving freely.
To report this kind of abuse by employers, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888. or send an email to help@humantraffickinghotline.org.
