Human Trafficking Around the World by Stephanie Hepburn Read Free Book Online

the applicant is a victim (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009a, 2009c). This visa program seems ineffective in multiple respects. First, it is underutilized. Although Congress created the U visa in 2000, the first visa was not issued until eight years later. At the end of 2008, 13,300 people had filed U visa applications, but only 65 visas were issued, and 20 applications were denied. The number of visas issued is particularly small considering that the Department of Homeland Security can issue up to 10,000 U visas annually, though interim benefits were granted to 10,800 applicants while final decisions on their applications were pending. Second, it is not uncommon for applicants to be placed in detention while awaiting decisions. This practice is in direct conflict with the intent of the TVPA, as it treats the applicant as a criminal instead of a potential victim. It also creates a “race against the clock” situation as to what will happen first—deportation or protection. As of July 2009 roughly 50 U visa applicants were being held in immigration detention centers throughout the nation (Gorman, 2009a, 2009b). Third, the burden on victims to assist law enforcement results in potential obstacles (discussed below).
    The T visa provides immigration protection to victims of severe forms of trafficking and allows visa holders to apply to become lawful permanent residents and eventually U.S. citizens. 7 The Department of Homeland Security is authorized to issue up to 5,000 T visas annually. As of October 2008 the department received only 2,300 T visa applications—1,308 of which were approved, 709 were denied or withdrawn, and 212 remained pending. In 2008, 247 T visas were granted to foreign victims of trafficking identified in the United States, and 171 T visas were granted to immediate family members of those persons (Crary, 2005; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009b; U.S. Department of State, 2009c). In 2009, 313 T visas were granted to foreign victims, and 273 T visas were issued to immediate family members of victims. In 2010, T visas were granted to 447 victims and 349 immediate family members of victims. Roughly 500 and 518 T visa holders, including victims and their family members, became lawful permanent residents in 2009 and 2010, respectively (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011).
    Strict criteria used for issuance of the T visa may be partly responsible for its underutilization. One concern among social service providers is the pressure exerted on victims to assist law enforcement. Since the T visa is more likely to be approved for an adult victim if he or she cooperates with law enforcement, trafficking victims over the age of 18 are encouraged to do so. The language on the I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status, reads: “I have complied with requests from Federal, State, or local law enforcement authorities for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking. (If ‘No,’ explain the circumstances.)” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009b). A victim who has just escaped or was recently rescued from a trafficking experience may simply not be in the right state of mind to help investigators. If interviewed before he or she is ready, the victim may not reveal critical details the police need to pursue the case. Factors in play may include mistrust of police, language barriers, loyalty to the victim’s traffickers, psychological reasons such as post-traumatic stress disorder, fear of appearing culpable, and fear of reprisals by traffickers or those in the traffickers’ network. Alia El-Sawi, a former Anti-Human Trafficking Program coordinator at Tapestri: The Refugee and Immigrant Coalition against Domestic Violence in Atlanta, Georgia, says victims are more apt to cooperate with law enforcement when the pressure to do so is temporarily lifted:
    Most of the time we give the victim a certain amount of time when we don’t visit the topic of prosecuting his or