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Trafficking And The Shallow State, Julie A. Dahlstrom
Trafficking And The Shallow State, Julie A. Dahlstrom
Faculty Scholarship
More than two decades ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) established new, robust protections for immigrant victims of trafficking. In particular, Congress created the T visa, a special form of immigration status, to protect immigrant victims from deportation. Despite lofty ambitions, the annual cap of 5,000 T visas has never been reached, with fewer than 1,200 approved each year. In recent years, denial rates also have climbed. For example, in fiscal year 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied 42.79% of the T visa applications that the agency adjudicated, compared with just 28.12% in fiscal year 2015. These developments …
The Elastic Meaning(S) Of Human Trafficking, Julie A. Dahlstrom
The Elastic Meaning(S) Of Human Trafficking, Julie A. Dahlstrom
Faculty Scholarship
What is human trafficking? When is an expansive definition of trafficking justifiable? How does trafficking relate to other concepts—like domestic violence, sexual assault, labor exploitation, and prostitution—with which it often overlaps? These questions have become increasingly salient after the U.S. Congress defined the crime of human trafficking in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (“TVPA”). Since then, all fifty states have passed legislation with varying definitions of the crime. Congress also has re-entered the field with subsequent legislation, expanding the crime to capture new conduct.
As a result of legislative advocacy and judicial interpretation, the legal …
Brief Of Amici Curiae Ascentria Care Alliance, Coalition Against Trafficking In Women, Children’S Advocacy Center Of Suffolk County, Demand Abolition, Eva Center, And My Life My Choice In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellee On The Constitutionality Of An Act Relative To The Commercial Exploitation Of People, Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V. Tyshaun Mcghee, Et Al., Julie A. Dahlstrom, Felicia Ellsworth, Tasha Bahal, Michelle Sandals
Brief Of Amici Curiae Ascentria Care Alliance, Coalition Against Trafficking In Women, Children’S Advocacy Center Of Suffolk County, Demand Abolition, Eva Center, And My Life My Choice In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellee On The Constitutionality Of An Act Relative To The Commercial Exploitation Of People, Commonwealth Of Massachusetts V. Tyshaun Mcghee, Et Al., Julie A. Dahlstrom, Felicia Ellsworth, Tasha Bahal, Michelle Sandals
Faculty Scholarship
The victims' story here is a heartbreaking one, and sadly, all too familiar. Too often, victims are targeted, advertised online, and transported for purposes of prostitution while subjected to poor conditions, coercion, and often physical violence. Recognizing that human trafficking is a pervasive and troubling epidemic, Congress and state legislatures around the country have taken actions to criminalize trafficking, punish its offenders, and provide necessary services for trafficking victims. In 2011, Massachusetts enacted An Act Relative to the Commercial Exploitation of People ("Massachusetts Anti-Trafficking Statute") to address the problem of trafficking in the Commonwealth. Among other key provisions, the Massachusetts …
“Exploitation Creep” And Development: A Response To Janie Chuang, Aziza Ahmed
“Exploitation Creep” And Development: A Response To Janie Chuang, Aziza Ahmed
Faculty Scholarship
In her article Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law, Janie Chuang insightfully describes transformations in the discourse on trafficking as it shifted from sex trafficking to human trafficking, and as human trafficking came to be understood as forced labor, and now modern day slavery. With each of these transformations, the United States government, self-anointed “global sheriff” of anti-trafficking efforts, deepened its emphasis on a prosecution-oriented strategy focused on individual perpetrator accountability. As an alternative trajectory, Chuang identifies and convincingly argues for a labor-rights approach that takes into consideration the structural causes of exploitation in the labor market, …