Publications, Scholarly Articles, & Policy Papers

Remembering The Undocumented Victim: A Preventative Approach to the Erosion of Human Trafficking Victim Protections Amid Radical Immigration Reform

California remains a leader in combating human trafficking, yet systemic barriers and shifting federal immigration policies disproportionately harm undocumented trafficking victims. The above policy paper analyzes evidence supporting the compounded vulnerabilities these victims face due to their legal status, including coercion, fear of deportation, and misidentification as criminals. It proposes the Immigration and Trafficking Victim Assistance Act (ITVAA), introducing measures to combat trafficking of undocumented individuals. Specifically, it mandates the appointment of neutral specialized case managers to assist trafficking victims, ensuring impartiality and trust. These case managers would be trained in human trafficking identification, T-Visa processes, and trauma-informed approaches. Their duties would include increasing the number of T-Visa applications to block undocumented trafficking victims from sudden removal, educating law enforcement and judicial personnel, coordinating inter-organization communication, and gathering data on trafficking trends to generate statewide metrics used to measure progress by district. These measures collectively aim to reduce systemic barriers, lessen fear, and improve victim access to resources, and strengthen California’s anti-trafficking framework.

Losing Sight of the Undocumented Victim: Barriers to Human Trafficking Deterrence in the Era of Immigration Reform

The above article, for which I received Highest Honors, presents evidence that a strict and negative approach to immigration undermines anti-human trafficking endeavors. Policies aimed at maximizing arrests and deportations create a chilling effect, which discourages victims from seeking help and hinders law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting traffickers. The increased likelihood that victims will be criminalized and/or removed if their undocumented status is discovered by authorities gives additional credence to threats used by traffickers as a means of coercion. Furthermore, the focus on raising criminal and civil immigration arrests inadvertently discourages law enforcement agents from opening lengthy human trafficking investigations, especially in cases of labor trafficking. While the government has taken steps to improve public awareness, and some departments have implemented mandatory or optional courses on how to identify human trafficking, these efforts are not sufficient. This article calls for political and financial prioritization of anti-trafficking efforts to counter the detrimental impact of increasingly strict immigration enforcement.