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Immigration on the High Plains
Texas to target human trafficking
Greg Abbott: Across and Texas and the entire United States, we're seeing an increase in what's called human trafficking, which is where crime organizations will bring people into the United States for servitude of different kinds.
Haslett: The criminals who deal in human beings keep their victims captive through a combination of force and, more significantly, intimidation. The victims are overwhelmingly female and many of them are minors. The most common type of forced labor is sexual.
Abbott: Most of the servitude is sex-based. Women and children will be forced into prostitution. Other forms of servitude will be to work in sweatshop-type situations or sometimes do other kinds of heavy-labor type of work.
Haslett: Amarillo Police Department Corporal Gerardo Bribiesca works in the Juvenile Division. He and some other officers have received special training on how to recognize cases of human trafficking. Bribiesca says that it does happen here.
Gerardo Bribiesca: They just basically taught us about what was going on- it seems to be, like, there's a lot more in the bigger cities than there are here. One of the cases they brought to us, they did advise us, or they let us know, that some of the girls had been brought through Amarillo- and had actually- may have been put to work at some of the bars, you know, along the Boulevard.
Haslett: By "the Boulevard," Bribiesca means Amarillo Boulevard- a big road on Amarillo's northeast side that hosts a number of rough-looking bars and nightclubs. APD Corporal Mike Martinez, also a juvenile division detective, says that the road to such situations often begins with ill-fated attempts to cross into the United States with the help of a criminal organization.
Mike Martinez: People are either being duped into believing they're coming over to the United States legally to work- or you know, make arrangements that they think they're going to work off what it cost to get them here. And then, of course, they never really pay off that debt.
Haslett: It's common for the perpetrators to tell victims that if they escape, that serious harm will come to their family back in their country of origin. Victims of human trafficking know their captors' capacity for revenge. Threats of violence or even kidnapping carry the force of plausibility.
Bribiesca: And I've had calls here at the Police Department, where we've had some of the Mexican nationals call us saying that the coyote- which is the man that brings, or the people that bring, the people across the border- had kept their family members and were asking for money now. They were holding them (for) ransom and they were, you know- (they) basically kidnapped them. And until they gave them money back, they wouldn't release them and a lot of times, they wouldn't know if they ever got released or not. So we've had some of those situations here in Amarillo.
Haslett: Bribiesca and Martinez also said that human traffickers keep their victims on the move- switching locations frequently to reduce the chance of the victim making any social connections. And when they're not on the move, doing everything possible to keep the victim isolated.
Martinez: One of the cases that the detective that was here teaching the class discussed with us involved a Hispanic man that wasn't even sure where he was. They didn't allow him newspaper, they didn't allow him TV. Just working in this restaurant, paying his debt off.
Haslett: The Texas Attorney General's office recently published a report on human trafficking. It says that of the 15-thousand estimated annual victims of human trafficking in the United States, about three thousand come through, or are in, Texas. The report included some recommendations for helping law enforcement combat the problem. State Senator Leticia Van De Putte of San Antonio has authored legislation based on those recommendations. Look for more attention to this topic when lawmakers return to session next month. This is Mark Haslett, High Plains Public Radio News. © Copyright 2012, hppr
(2008-12-16)
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AMARILLO, TEXAS
(hppr) -
Mark Haslett: There's been plenty of discussion about illegal immigration in recent years- both at the national level and here on the high plains, where immigration- both legal and illegal- has changed the social and economic life of the region. But despite all the talk, some aspects of the situation don't receive much attention. One such aspect is human trafficking. In Texas, State Attorney General Greg Abbott is among a number of public officials who want to increase awareness and enforcement around this issue.
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Greg Abbott: Across and Texas and the entire United States, we're seeing an increase in what's called human trafficking, which is where crime organizations will bring people into the United States for servitude of different kinds.
Haslett: The criminals who deal in human beings keep their victims captive through a combination of force and, more significantly, intimidation. The victims are overwhelmingly female and many of them are minors. The most common type of forced labor is sexual.
Abbott: Most of the servitude is sex-based. Women and children will be forced into prostitution. Other forms of servitude will be to work in sweatshop-type situations or sometimes do other kinds of heavy-labor type of work.
Haslett: Amarillo Police Department Corporal Gerardo Bribiesca works in the Juvenile Division. He and some other officers have received special training on how to recognize cases of human trafficking. Bribiesca says that it does happen here.
Gerardo Bribiesca: They just basically taught us about what was going on- it seems to be, like, there's a lot more in the bigger cities than there are here. One of the cases they brought to us, they did advise us, or they let us know, that some of the girls had been brought through Amarillo- and had actually- may have been put to work at some of the bars, you know, along the Boulevard.
Haslett: By "the Boulevard," Bribiesca means Amarillo Boulevard- a big road on Amarillo's northeast side that hosts a number of rough-looking bars and nightclubs. APD Corporal Mike Martinez, also a juvenile division detective, says that the road to such situations often begins with ill-fated attempts to cross into the United States with the help of a criminal organization.
Mike Martinez: People are either being duped into believing they're coming over to the United States legally to work- or you know, make arrangements that they think they're going to work off what it cost to get them here. And then, of course, they never really pay off that debt.
Haslett: It's common for the perpetrators to tell victims that if they escape, that serious harm will come to their family back in their country of origin. Victims of human trafficking know their captors' capacity for revenge. Threats of violence or even kidnapping carry the force of plausibility.
Bribiesca: And I've had calls here at the Police Department, where we've had some of the Mexican nationals call us saying that the coyote- which is the man that brings, or the people that bring, the people across the border- had kept their family members and were asking for money now. They were holding them (for) ransom and they were, you know- (they) basically kidnapped them. And until they gave them money back, they wouldn't release them and a lot of times, they wouldn't know if they ever got released or not. So we've had some of those situations here in Amarillo.
Haslett: Bribiesca and Martinez also said that human traffickers keep their victims on the move- switching locations frequently to reduce the chance of the victim making any social connections. And when they're not on the move, doing everything possible to keep the victim isolated.
Martinez: One of the cases that the detective that was here teaching the class discussed with us involved a Hispanic man that wasn't even sure where he was. They didn't allow him newspaper, they didn't allow him TV. Just working in this restaurant, paying his debt off.
Haslett: The Texas Attorney General's office recently published a report on human trafficking. It says that of the 15-thousand estimated annual victims of human trafficking in the United States, about three thousand come through, or are in, Texas. The report included some recommendations for helping law enforcement combat the problem. State Senator Leticia Van De Putte of San Antonio has authored legislation based on those recommendations. Look for more attention to this topic when lawmakers return to session next month. This is Mark Haslett, High Plains Public Radio News. © Copyright 2012, hppr
