Boston University

'Working like a slave': Why human trafficking in restaurants is underreported – WGBH
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'Working like a slave': Why human trafficking in restaurants is underreported – WGBH

Working in Boston-area restaurants over the last 15 years, Billy often felt like a slave. He was caught in a seemingly never-ending cycle of labor and exploitation, striving to pay off debts, sick from stress and overwork, terrified about being turned over to immigration officials. The 41-year-old Salvadoran immigrant said he started his first restaurant…

New report exposes dramatic shortfall of visas for victims of trafficking – WGBH
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New report exposes dramatic shortfall of visas for victims of trafficking – WGBH

The federal government is making it hard for labor trafficking victims to get legal immigration status that allows them to remain in the United States without fear of deportation, according to a first-of-its-kind nationwide report from Boston University. “The findings of this report show that the T-visa system that is built on a goal of…

How Trump’s human trafficking efforts failed immigrant survivors
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How Trump’s human trafficking efforts failed immigrant survivors

Former President Donald Trump has made human trafficking central to his platform, pledging to mobilize the full force of the U.S. government to fight this “epidemic,” a hard line he recently reiterated in a speech in Ohio. Drawing on longstanding bipartisan support for anti-trafficking protection, Trump passed legislation to strengthen legal protections for survivors and increase funding for anti-trafficking efforts,…

For labor trafficked immigrants, T-visas are a life-saving but flawed relief – WGBH
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For labor trafficked immigrants, T-visas are a life-saving but flawed relief – WGBH

In 2018, the police came to a home in Saugus, Massachusetts, to rescue Anabelle Masalon, a Filipina housekeeper who had been essentially a prisoner of the family from the United Arab Emirates that employed her. She had been forced to work 21-hour days, earning no more than $400 a month, unable to leave the house…

Trafficking Inc.: Forced labor in Massachusetts – WGBH
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Trafficking Inc.: Forced labor in Massachusetts – WGBH

Melba regularly showed up at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2018 to accompany a child she cared for who was being treated there. But nobody noticed — or asked about — Melba’s own suffering. The petite Filipina was miserable, working more than 100 hours a week as a maid and nanny, earning between $400 and $550…