1. Human Trafficking
Overview
Sex Trafficking in the U.S.
Labor Trafficking in the U.S.
Agriculture & Farms
Domestic Work
Hostess & Strip Clubs
Restaurants & Food Service
Factories
Peddling & Begging Rings
Hospitality Industry
Other Industries
Recognizing the Signs
International Trafficking
Trafficking FAQs
State-by-State Resources
Calendar of Events
The NHTRC Human Trafficking Report a Tip Access Training Resources Map Get Involved Contact
Factory/production work becomes
trafficking through the use of force, fraud,
or coercion. Traffickers may subject victims
to physical confinement in locked factories
or plants.
"I was an easy target for my trafficker. I was a desperate mother looking for a
way to provide for my three children. I was told that I would have a good job
with good pay and a place where to live. When I got here I was locked in the
factory and forced to work 17 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week."
- Flor Molina, Survivor of forced labor
Labor traffickinginmanufacturinghas beenknownto occur inthe
garment industry andinfoodprocessingplants inthe UnitedStates.
Victims, bothmenandwomen, have beenforcedto work 10-12 hour
days, 6-7 days per week withlittle or no break time. People may be
traffickedinto garment industry jobs suchas sewing, assembling,
pressing, or packingapparel. Others may be forcedto work infood
processingoperations that include slaughtering, preserving, canning
andpackinggoods for distribution. Immigrant workers, both
documentedandundocumented, are oftenrecruitedinto these
industries. Some documentedimmigrants include H-2Bvisaholders
who arrive inthe U.S. to performnon-agricultural labor or
temporary services.
Several workers paidlarge fees to laborrecruiters who brought
themto the U.S. with falsifieddocuments. Whenthe workers
arrivedinthe U.S., they learnedthat theirdebts hadincreasedand
that they hadto workat acanningplant inasmall, rural townin
Kansas to pay the debt. The recruiters requiredthat the workers
live inovercrowdedconditions inhousingthat they provided. Because of its isolatedlocationthe
workers hadto rely onthe recruiters forfoodandbasic supplies. The recruiters tookthe majority of
the workers’ paychecks, claimingthat the money went to theirdebt, housingandfood.
*Basedoncalls receivedby the National HumanTraffickingResource Center. Identifyingdetails
have beenchangedto protect confidentiality.
When does it become trafficking?
Factory/productionwork becomes traffickingwhenthe employer
uses force, fraudand/or coercionto maintaincontrol over the
worker andto cause the worker to believe that he or she has no
other choice but to continue to work. Commonmethods of
control include:
Force–Physical confinement inlockedfactories or plants;
placement inspecific productionline tasks that the worker cannot abandon;physical or sexual abuse;
constant surveillance.
Fraud–Misrepresentationof the work, workingconditions, wages, andimmigrationbenefits of the
job;payment schemes that compensate worker by units of productionrather thanhourly wage and
thus grossly underpay workers;manufacturingplants facingcomplaints may close downandrelocate
elsewhere without payingworkers for their labor;alteredor bogus contracts;visafraude.g. allowinga
legitimate visato expire or failingto provide apromisedvisa, thereby increasingthe worker’s
vulnerability to threats of deportationandlimitinghis or her alternative job options.
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2. Coercion –Threats of deportation;threats of dismissal if workers attempt to unionize or address
workingconditions (wages andhour violations, workplace safety, discrimination/harassment);
exploitationof aforeignnational’s unfamiliarity withlocal labor laws or workers’ rights;confiscationof
passports andvisas;debt manipulation.
*The above list is not comprehensive orcumulative. One element of force, fraudorcoercionmay be
present, ormany.
Vulnerabilities / Enabling Factors
Low Profit Margins–Domestic manufacturingis drivenby competitionfromoffshore industries
where labor is outsourced, particularly ingarment andapparel manufacturing. As aresult, factory
workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitationandtraffickingwhenworkinginhighproduction,
lowprofit operations where there is ademandfor cheapor free labor.
Tiered Production System –Foodandgarment productionare decentralized, whereby
retailers/buyers purchase goods frommanufacturingcompanies that inturnemploy various
subcontractors to prepare or produce those goods. Subcontractors who arrange the actual labor are
responsible for payingandsupervisingworkers, but may fall outside the scope of retailer-
manufacturer agreements governingovertime, workplace safety, discrimination/harassment, andthe
right to organize andbargaincollectively. This structure creates anunregulatedwork environment
whereby traffickingvictims are oftenexploitedby their subcontractingsupervisors or employers.
Immigration Status–Traffickers oftenuse threats of deportationanddocument confiscationto
maintaincontrol over foreignnational workers inthe productionindustry. H-2Bworkers, (temporary
immigrant workers)are particularly vulnerable because their legal status inthe UnitedStates is tiedto
their employment, andbecause they oftenhave extendedfamilies intheir home countries who depend
ontheir wages. Traffickers impose hefty debts to immigrant workers for job recruitment fees,
transportationcosts andvisaprocessing. Additionally, traffickers prey onimmigrant workers’
unfamiliarity withthe language, laws andcustoms of the U.S. to further manipulate or exploit them.
Relevant Press Releases
U.S. v. Kil Soo Lee-Kil Soo Lee, owner of the Daewoosagarment factory inAmericanSamoa, was
convictedonnumerous federal charges, includinginvoluntary servitude, extortionandmoney
laundering. The defendant, chargedin2001 inU.S. District Court inHawaii, illegally confinedandused
as forcedlabor over 200 Vietnamese andChinese garment workers.
FromMarch1999 throughNovember 2000, Lee andhis managers conspiredto use arrests,
deportations, fooddeprivationandbeatings to force workers to operate the Daewoosafactory. The
workers were recruitedfromChinaandfromstate-ownedlabor export companies inVietnam.
Evidence presentedat trial revealedthat recruits paidfees of approximately $5,000 to $8,000 to gain
employment at the Daewoosafactory andriskedretaliationif deported.
David, et al. v. Signal International LLC- A current class actionlawsuit has beenbrought on
behalf of over 500 guestworkers fromIndiaworkers who were traffickedinto the U.S. throughthe H-
2Bguestworker programwithdishonest assurances of becominglawful permanent U.S. residents and
subjectedto squalidlivingconditions, fraudulent payment practices, andthreats of serious harmupon
their arrival.
The complaint alleges that recruitingagents hiredby the marine industry company, Signal
International, heldthe workers’ documents, coercedtheminto payingextraordinary fees for
recruitment, immigrationprocessingandtravel, andthreatenedthe workers withserious legal and
physical harmif they didnot work under the Signal-restrictedguestworker visa. The complaint also
alleges that once inthe U.S., the menwere requiredto live inSignal's guarded, overcrowdedlabor
camps, subjectedto psychological abuse anddefraudedout of adequate payment for their work.
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3. Top Resources
HumanTrafficking
National HumanTraffickingResource
Center
Sex TraffickingintheU.S.
RecognizingtheSigns
TheVictims
Client Quotes
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