Country Report: USA

Nearly 150 years after the 13th Amendment, the U.S. is not yet free from slavery.

A Victim's Story

In 1989, Nigerian native Beatrice was recruited at age 13 to live with an American child welfare worker and her husband to help with housework and attend school. Her parents, hoping for a better standard of living and a better education for their daughter, agreed. Upon arrival in to the U.S., however, Beatrice found herself enslaved. She was locked in a suburban home, forced to work up to 20 hours a day, and denied education. Beatrice was regularly beaten while forced to hold her hands above her head and kneel on the floor. One day in 1998, after she was beaten for over an hour, Beatrice's screams caught the neighbors' attention. The police were called, and Beatrice was rescued. Beatrice had been held as a slave in the U.S. for nine years.

According to CIA estimates, over 100,000 people are enslaved in the U.S. today. These victims (typically from the Third World) are trafficked to locations across the country to work as domestic, sex, factory, or agricultural slaves. Law enforcement authorities have only recently recognized the extent of this modern day slavery and are just now introducing response programs.

Country Background

A trans-Atlantic slave trade in Africans was first introduced to American territory in 1630 and soon flourished. As part of a national dispute over slavery in the mid-19th century, the U.S. was consumed by a civil war. In 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing black slaves in southern states. Three years later, the 13th amendment to the Constitution was ratified, outlawing slavery throughout the United States. But effects of a botched emancipation program following the Civil War still linger. Today, America is among the world's most industrialized and wealthy nations. The country's population of roughly 300 million is constantly growing and diversifying, as new immigrants arrive from around the world.

Causes of Slavery

Poverty and unemployment in the Third World guarantee that offers to "work" in the U.S. are often attractive. Impoverished rural villagers are especially vulnerable to slave recruiters, who often target isolated individuals with limited understanding of the global economy and exploitation.

For traffickers and owners, slavery is also highly lucrative - the labor is free and profit margins are high. Recruiters cover their costs easily, and owners typically benefit from the free labor on a daily basis. Moreover, slave masters face limited risk. Detecting cases is difficult, and prosecuting offenders presents an uphill battle - as use of force or legal coercion must be clearly demonstrated. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 provides a strong basis to charge perpetrators, but the law is still new and cases are hard to win. Moreover, the law is only useful in cases that are actually discovered. With an American public largely unaware that slavery did not end in 1865 and law enforcement officials untrained in recognizing cases of involuntary servitude, thousands of cases go undetected each year.

The Process of Enslavement

Slaves in the United States are typically trafficked in from foreign countries. (Some American-born slaves do exist, but these cases are not yet fully documented). Recruiters promise the amenities of the U.S. - education, employment, and freedom - to poor families overseas. Upon arrival, the recruiters announce an enormous fee (sometimes as much as $50,000) for travel expenses - and suddenly coerce duped victims into debt bondage. In other cases, slaves from other countries travel with their masters to the U.S.

Slavery in the U.S. varies from case to case. Slaves have been discovered as farm workers (in South Carolina's peach-picking industry, for instance), domestic maids, street peddlers, sweatshop workers, and prostitutes. Many victims speak no English and inherently distrust officials in uniform. As a result, few manage to communicate their plight to neighbors of police.

There is no "typical" slaveholder. Lawyers, diplomats, landlords, pharmacists, child welfare workers, and teachers have all been prosecuted for involuntary servitude. Age, region, and income level vary greatly as well. This fact makes discovering cases of slavery even more difficult, as there is no specific criteria for identifying slaveholders. The length of time the slaveholders keep their slaves ranges as well. Reports indicate that some individuals have been enslaved for a few months, while others were enslaved for as long as 20 years.

Response on the Ground

Groups such as the American Anti-Slavery Group work to raise awareness of slavery within the United States and provide a platform to survivors to speak out. Other non-government groups working on this issue include: CAST, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking; the Human Rights Law Group; and the Campaign for Migrant Domestic Workers Rights. The Justice Department has also created a National Worker Exploitation Task Force, with a toll free hotline: 1-888-428-7581.

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