N.J. not immune to human trafficking problems, congressman says
By DONNA DE LA CRUZ
Associated Press Writer
June 5, 2004, 10:26 AM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The small New Jersey towns of Brigantine and Plainfield tout themselves as
family friendly places. The two towns also share the infamous distinction of being linked
to the worldwide problem of trafficking young girls and women who are forced to work as
prostitutes or domestic servants.
"Human trafficking has become a negative suburban phenomenon," Rep. Chris Smith,
R-N.J., said in a recent interview in his Capitol Hill office.
Smith, vice chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said millions of
young girls and women are trafficked each year. He said many of these victims are smuggled
into the United States to work in large cities and small hamlets, like Brigantine and
Plainfield, two of several New Jersey communities where trafficking victims have been
found.
Earlier this year, a Malaysian citizen was arrested for allegedly operating a brothel he
ran from his Brigantine home, employing women smuggled into the country from Asia. And in
the summer of 2002, federal authorities charged several people with luring Mexican girls
and women to work as prostitutes in Plainfield. Two of the defendants later pleaded guilty
and were sentenced to 210 months in prison.
Smith wrote the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Law, the nation's first law
that deals specifically with human trafficking. The law provides investigators with
resources to prosecute offenders and money to help victims. He also authored the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act that expanded on the government's abilities to fight
human trafficking. Both laws were signed by President Bush in 2000 and 2003.
The laws also require the State Department to issue an annual "Trafficking in Persons
Report" to Congress _ known as the TIP Report _ that identifies countries that are
found to have significant human trafficking problems.
The fourth annual report, due to be issued June 14, is a diplomatic tool that the U.S.
government uses to encourage countries to crack down on human trafficking, which is third
only to drug and arms trafficking in terms of reaping financial benefits for criminals,
said John Miller, head of the State Department's Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking
in Persons. Countries that do little or nothing to deal with the problem can face
sanctions, Miller said.
In the 2003 report, 15 countries, including U.S. allies Greece and Turkey, were deemed to
have made no significant efforts to stop human trafficking.
"The public is becoming more aware in the last couple of years but you still have
large elements of the public that would say 'Slavery? Didn't that end with the American
Civil War?' And that's true abroad as well. This doesn't affect a lot of people, and it
comes to a shock to them," Miller said.
The U.S. government estimates that between 18,000 to 20,000 young girls and women are
trafficked into the United States, but that number could actually be higher, said Avaloy
Lanning, director of the New Jersey Anti-Trafficking Initiative.
"It's such a hidden phenomenon," Lanning said. "It's so hidden, because
there are cases that may not lend themselves to arrest or prosecution."
Some victims are afraid to cooperate with authorities, fearing retribution against
themselves or their families back home, she said.
Human trafficking in New Jersey is widespread because of the state's makeup, Lanning said.
"We have a high concentration of factory labor and commercialized workers in the
north and a huge concentration of farm labor in the south," she said. "And the
state's proximity to New York City and Philadelphia makes New Jersey ripe for the
problem."
The International Institute of New Jersey started the anti-trafficking initiative one year
ago in an effort to establish guidelines on how to identify victims and help them. The
institute held its first statewide anti-trafficking conference in March, bringing together
human rights and other community organizations, and legal and law enforcement personnel,
Lanning said.
From that conference, the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking was formed, and
there will be two meetings held at the end of June _ one in north Jersey and one in the
southern part of the state _ to discuss ways to battle human trafficking, Lanning said.
Lanning and Miller credit Smith for taking a leading role to battle human trafficking.
"He took charge of drafting the bills and he pushed it through the House of
Representatives," said Miller, a former Republican congressman from Washington state.
"Because of that, the United States has been able to assume a leadership role in
opposing slavery around the world. And more importantly, thousands of victims have been
freed and hundreds of traffickers have been thrown in jail."
"This sort of work that he is doing ... mankind will thank him for in future
generations," Miller said.
Smith has traveled extensively to discuss the problem of human trafficking with other
government officials, and has met many victims.
"You just have to look into one of those young girls' eyes just to see the
despair," Smith said. "So many get sick, get AIDS or other kinds of sexually
transmitted diseases, become throwaways and they die."
Smith says his Catholic faith is why he became involved with human rights issues ever
since he was elected to Congress in 1980. He recited part of the Gospel scripture that
motivates his work.
"Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do likewise to me," Smith said,
quoting scripture. "For me, it's all about caring for those who are disenfranchised _
that's what government should be all about."
