HONOLULU — Two prominent, popular brothers who operate the second-largest vegetable farm in Hawaii will be sentenced in federal court this week on human trafficking charges, but two former state governors, fellow farmers, and other supporters are trying to keep them out of prison.
The brothers pleaded guilty to shipping 44 laborers from Thailand and forcing them to work on their farm, part of a pipeline to the United States that allegedly cornered foreign field hands into low-paying jobs with few rights....
Related: Illegals Already Have Amnesty
Hitching a Ride With Homeland Security
Free Agent Immigrants
I told you the whole illegals debate is a sham.
It's all about those last two items I highlighted.
If the workers complained, Mike Sou threatened to send them home without any way to repay recruitment fees exceeding $30,000 that they borrowed from Thai money lenders, federal authorities say.
That is why they don't want Americans.
We complain when things are unfair and you can't send us home.
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"New state laws target human trafficking; Legislators devise help for victims, criminal penalties" by Michael W. Savage, Washington Post | July 20, 2010
WASHINGTON — A burst of activity among state legislatures to target human trafficking has ushered in dozens of laws to step up criminal penalties against traffickers and offer new help to victims.
The laws focus on practices that have remained largely hidden — traffickers who coerce victims into becoming prostitutes, forced laborers, or domestic slaves.
Some states have introduced measures that criminalize human trafficking specifically for the first time. Advocates say the efforts signal that lawmakers are gaining a fuller appreciation of the scope of human trafficking....
Ann Morse, a director at the National Conference for State Legislators, said bills tackling human trafficking are “the latest big trend.’’ The efforts have followed coverage of high-profile cases and a growing grass-roots campaign among advocates.
The term “trafficking,’’ said Bradley Myles, executive director of the Polaris Project, “makes people think of whips, chains, brute force, and channel slavery.’’ In reality, he said, traffickers may simply use threats or blackmail, or confiscate a victim’s travel documents to gain control over the person. Victims have included US citizens forced into work without being moved across a border....
So SLAVERY STILL EXISTS in America?
One woman in Virginia said she had come to the United States to become a domestic worker from her native Angola because of the promise of medical treatment for a long-term illness. But once here, she found herself working as a housebound slave as much as 20 hours a day.
Is that what the brochure promised you illegals?
Don't tell me you were lied to like all of us.
Related: Clear the Court: Boning Immigrants
Is that the America you were dreaming of and whay you had heard about?
Advocates said the next step is to translate the laws into convictions. But so far, even in Washington, prosecutions remain relatively rare.
And we all know why!
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Also see: Around AmeriKa: One-Day Wonder From Ohio
