Human Trafficking and the T Visa Process

Human mobility, in its different manifestations — international and domestic migration; refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced populations; and human trafficking — is at the center of many political and public debates. In two research presentations by UNO faculty, the demographics of highly mobile populations will be explored as well as the impacts of mobility on communities in Nebraska

From “Whores” to “Victims”: The Rise and Status of Sex Trafficking Courts

Views of people involved in the commercial sex trade have shifted. Once seen as prostitutes or “whores,” they are increasingly perceived as exploited “victims.” The behavior associated with commercial sex has been redefined from voluntary and disreputable to coerced and deserving of rescue. This new framework is part of a broader anti-trafficking movement in society to recognize and save vulnerable individuals who are exploited for sex. In this context, the model of problem-solving or specialty courts has been extended to sex trafficking cases. The goal first is to identify trafficking victims–also known as “victim-defendants”–and then to address their risk factors with services. The current review examines the prevalence and the effectiveness of sex trafficking courts. Although some promising evaluations have been conducted, it remains unclear whether such courts are addressing the unique needs of victim-defendants. Investigating this question is essential, given that trafficking courts are likely to grow in popularity and in number

The Role of Specialty Courts in Addressing Human Trafficking Cases: A Policy Evaluation

CPACS Inquiry Awards Part of the mission of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS) is to conduct research, especially as it relates to concerns of our local and statewide constituencies. The CPACS Inquiry Awards, is one catalyst of the College to assure this mission is fulfilled. CPACS Inquiry Awards are intended to support research of any methodology that explores the nature, scope, concerns and/or solutions to issues of public interest with a focus on examining or demonstrating how such inquiry can positively impact the public(s) researched. For this award the public(s) researched must be relevant to Nebraska and/or our neighbor states

Human Trafficking and the T Visa Process: Insights from Legal Representatives Working with Victims from Latin Ameria

Human trafficking occurs when traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to compel individuals to provide labor or services—broadly known as labor or sex trafficking. Traffickers often take advantage of individuals who are perceived as vulnerable, including those lacking immigration status. In response, the United States Congress created a T nonimmigrant status (also referred to as a T visa) in October 2000 to protect immigrant victims and to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate these crimes. The current study sought to examine the trafficking experiences of foreign national victims from Latin America specifically by interviewing legal representatives who assist these individuals in Nebraska. These representatives were selected due to their intimate knowledge of the T visa process and their unique position to identify human trafficking victims during legal consultations. Interviews were conducted via Zoom with six individuals who provided rich insights into 22 cases involving victims of human trafficking from Latin America. The findings include an overview of the legal representatives who encountered these cases, describes the trafficking experience of victims from Latin America, explores the challenges of filing for a T visa, examines the role of service providers in addressing clients’ needs, and reviews the legal representatives’ perceptions of barriers to trafficking cases. The report concludes with policy implications that are useful to individuals or institutions (e.g., agencies, legal representatives, law enforcement) in anti-trafficking initiatives

COMMUNITY AND NETWORK RESPONSES FOR ASSISTING MOBILE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the increasing vulnerability of individuals, households, and communities. It has almost certainly been even more devastating for those who rely on community networks and organizations for aid but are less able to access aid networks in conditions of reduced mobility. This is the case for “mobile vulnerable populations,” among which include persons experiencing homelessness, victims of human trafficking,immigrants, refugees, and Latinos/as. This report summarizes our research with local Omaha service providers about what they need to serve mobile vulnerable populations in the community, how the pandemic has affected their ability to do so, and whether there have been any substantial and/or institutionalized partnerships between UNO/UNMC and these community organizations. In our research, we used a multi-method approach consisting of a survey of community organization leaders and interviews with organization workers engaged into day-to-day service provision to meet the needs of their clients. Our findingscan be summarized in four main themes: (a) organizations were already under-resourced prior to the pandemic; (b) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizations was substantial; (c) organizations described similar strengths and innovative responses to the pandemic; and (d) there is a lack of institutionalized collaboration with UNO/UNMC. We argue that building connections between UNO/UNMC and community organizations, as well as assisting in the development of networks among various organizations, is central to the mission of the University of Nebraska system and could benefitthe community more broadly. Concluding, we present four main recommendations: (1) more connections are needed between UNO/UNMC and agencies in the Omaha area; (2) it is likely that there are existing relationships between agency partners and UNO/UNMC faculty, staff and students that could be leveraged; (3) there is an opportunity to prepare students and emphasize workforce growth among providers; and (4) the important work of serving mobile vulnerable populations can be rewarding but also challenging for Omaha providers

Measuring Sex Trafficking: A National-Level Victimization Survey of an At-Risk Sample

The current study administered a self-report survey with behaviorally specific questions to a stratified sample of non-college educated women, aged 18 to 29, in the general population (N = 996). Notably, the women were classified as being trafficked as adults only (3.8%), minors only (9.6%), or as both adults and minors (9.3%) using the federal legal definition. More than 1 in 5 (22.7%) women in the sample met the criteria for sex trafficking victimization at some point in their lives. However, only 39.6% of the respondents who experienced trafficking as an adult reported these events to police—further contributing to the “hidden figure” of crime. Guided by victimological theories, vulnerabilities, individual characteristics, and lifestyle factors increased the odds of being trafficked but varied depending on the type of exploitation. The implications of these findings are reviewed, including the utility of studying trafficking using behaviorally worded self-report surveys

Willingness to report crime to the police: Traditional crime, cybercrime, and procedural justice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the reporting intentions of traditional and cybercrime victimization, and the role of procedural justice in explaining sources of variation. Design/methodology/approach Using Amazon’s MTurk program for opt-in survey participation, 534 respondents across the USA considered ten victimization incidents and expressed their likelihood of reporting each incident to the police as well as their belief that the police would identify and arrest the offender. Findings As expected, reporting intentions increased with the seriousness of the incident for both traditional crime and cybercrime. However, reporting intentions were generally slightly higher for incidents that occurred in the physical world, as opposed to online. Likewise, beliefs that police could identify and arrest and offender were lower for cybercrime compared to traditional crime. Consistently, predictors of reporting to the police and belief in police effectiveness hinged heavily on procedural justice. Other predictors for these behaviors and beliefs are also discussed. Originality/value This study uniquely compares reporting intentions of potential victims of parallel victimizations occurring in-person and online, thus providing firm comparisons about reporting intentions and beliefs about police effectiveness in addressing traditional and cybercrime

Invasion of the Drones: A New Frontier for Victimization

The use of recreational drones has only recently become a possibility for the general public. However, with the addition of this new technology comes the potential for misuse. Using a national sample (N = 535), this study explored the prevalence of victimization by recreational drones as well as beliefs and responses to deviant drones and their pilots. Of note, 30.8% of the sample had experienced some form of drone misconduct. Females and those with higher antisocial propensities were more likely to be victims of the more invasive drone behaviors, such as a drone peeking through a window of a home. In addition, the majority of respondents viewed deviant drones as an issue requiring a police response but were a bit more skeptical in the ability of the police to apprehend the errant drone pilots engaging in this behavior. Furthermore, the vast majority of respondents believed that drone misconduct should be criminalized. Although it remains to be seen how prevalent drone deviance will become, the potential for victimization exists and should be examined by practitioners and researchers alike