{"id":502,"date":"2019-03-08T20:34:22","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T20:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.couleedevserver.com\/exodus\/human-trafficking-and-u-s-immigration-a-dark-connection\/"},"modified":"2021-05-08T03:11:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T03:11:12","slug":"human-trafficking-and-u-s-immigration-a-dark-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.couleedevserver.com\/exodus\/human-trafficking-and-u-s-immigration-a-dark-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Trafficking and U.S. Immigration: A Dark Connection"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hear news about immigration almost daily in the United States. Unfortunately,\u00a0human trafficking<\/a> is one of its dangerous and all-too-common byproducts. In this post, we hope to help you better understand the connection between migration and human trafficking by answering some common questions surrounding it.<\/p>\n

Our goal is to educate and raise awareness by sharing relevant research and statistics from several carefully curated sources. We address some of the risks immigrants face before leaving their native countries, what their journeys can involve, and the dangers traffickers pose for them along the way to seeking asylum.<\/p>\n

Why do migrants flee their home countries?<\/h2>\n

The answer to this question can vary greatly, but studies have shown that there are common reasons migrants leave home to seek refuge in foreign countries.<\/p>\n

Victims of Crime<\/h4>\n

According to a series of surveys conducted by Vanderbilt University\u2019s Latin American and Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), individuals who have been victims of crime are overall more likely to emigrate than those who have never been. The studies also suggest that those who have been victims of crime more than once are even more likely to leave home and seek asylum elsewhere.1<\/sup> These surveys were given to individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, also known as the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA)\u2014one of the most dangerous regions on earth.<\/p>\n

Countries in the NTCA have some of the highest homicide and female-specific homicide rates in the world. Families and individuals (including children) are fleeing these countries to escape extreme forms of violence occurring in their communities and seeking asylum in neighboring countries like Mexico and the U.S.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

Gender-Based Violence<\/h4>\n

Another study was conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 160 women\u2014who were either recognized as refugees or \u201cscreened by the U.S. Government to have a credible or reasonable fear of persecution or torture\u201d\u2014were interviewed. These women described what they experienced before fleeing home and on their migration journeys. Many reported that they and their children faced extreme violence at home, such as rape and other forms of assault, threats, and extortion.<\/p>\n

The following statistics were gathered from the interviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n