Do you think this Human Trafficking victim is a criminal?
Earlier, a person posted a question about Human Trafficking which recieved some pretty cruel and disturbing answers. So, here is personal story of one. Do you think this person is an illegal immigrant and should be treated like one, or offered help. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22083762/ Exceprts: In spring of 2004, Katya (not her real name), like thousands of other foreign exchange university students, was looking forward to the summer job placement that she and a friend had received in Virginia Beach, Va. When she and her friend Lena arrived at Dulles Airport after a long flight from Ukraine, they were relieved to be met by fellow countrymen who spoke Russian. When we got to the hotel in Detroit, everything changed,†says Katya. “They closed the door and sat us down on the couch, took our passports and papers and said, ‘You owe us big money for bringing you here.’ They gave us strip clothes and told us that we were going to be working at a strip club called Cheetahs.†Shocked and scared, the two women were subjected to physical, mental and sexual abuse over the next year as they were forced to work 12-hour shifts stripping for local Detroit men’s clubs. According to immigration customs agent Angus Lowe, the men controlled the women through intimidation with guns and threats to hurt family members back home. One of the responses to the earlier question of Human Trafficking was - DEPORT THEM. Hey I'm sorry , but they are still criminals and are still here illegally. Being victims of a crime doesn't negate being criminals themselves to begin with. Return them back to where they belong. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvpVNy1dFAtxZ5DyHDlGYeTa7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20080405111203AAq50br
Immigration - 11 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Yes, they are criminals if they willingly submit themselves for the purpose of entering a country illegally. If they are mislead and believe that they are entering a country legally as you imply in the story, then they are simply victims of fraud and could stay as long as necesarry to prosecute the bad guy that did that to them or as long as they visa/passport would have originally allowed.
2 :
She's a victim and appears to have had a valid passport and visa (papers). IF, however, she had entered the country illegally or with forged papers, I would have far less compassion for her. Once you engage in criminal activity and deal with criminals yourself, you open yourself up to becoming a victim yourself.
3 :
This subject has already been addressed on here but I guess some people don't get it and want to keep bringing up the same garbage. They are here illegally and it isn't our job to care for them, and I really don't give a sh*t how they got here. Send them back to where they came from, why do U.S. taxpayers have to care for orphans from other countries. Tough luck for them, maybe they should do something in ther home country to stop this from happening to other women from THEIR COUNTRY. Get them out of here. Next thing you know all the Mexicans will start saying they were kidnapped as sex slaves.
4 :
She broke our laws to be here so why should she now want our laws to protect her? Our laws are to protect "AMERICANS" not some Russian who doesn't belong here, let this be a lesson to any body who thinks they can just buy their way into our society I hope our authorities jailed her and then sent her back where she came from. If she was here as a legal exchange student she wouldn't have owed anybody any money for sneaking here into our great country, even a blind man can see that
5 :
Obviously this has hit a nerve with you. The true victims do indeed deserve our sympathy and help. I cannot pretend to know the hows or whys on this matter. But if you want to look into this issue further I'll post a link that I think is a good place to start.
6 :
Dear, the bottom line is a) If a person is kidnapped against their will and smuggled across interntional boundaries, when they never had any intent of entering a country illegally, then they are a victim. b) If a person presents him/herself to others with the intent of having that person aid and abet their entering a country illegally--eg, without proper papers and authorization -- then they are a criminal, even if whomever they hook up with is a more severe criminal. ANd even if they are abused or taken advantage of in the process. They are a criminal who then in turn also became a victim--without negating their original criminal intent. Each and every circumstance would have to be looked at individually for the fact pattern involved. There is no "one size fits all" response.
7 :
No she is NOT a criminal and deserves our support and help. The ppl that say she should have known better than cohort with criminals must also believe the victims of rape have deserved what they got either by dress or hanging out in bars because rapists do go to bars afterall. The ppl that have no sympathy for someone in this situation are emotionally bereft. Many of these ppl are kids. Maybe they condone child pornography and blame the children too.
8 :
No, the person is not a criminal, the person is a victim of human trafficking, regardless of the status which is not even supposed to be questioned for a victim of human trafficking. Regarding the answer that you are referring, I also saw that aberration, actually, many people saw that answer. Now, that same person is giving you another answer. Not only that, the people who gave the thumbs up to that answer just show that : maybe they were friend of the person or maybe was one person with many thumbs.
9 :
As horrific as that story is, they still were here illegally. Had that happened to an American in any one of dozens of countries abroad, guess what? After all the outrage and the hullabaloo, the person would still be shipped back home like freight.
10 :
She is a victim; she came here with a passport and Visa. If she didn't have the correct documentation she would have never been able to leave the Air Port because our custom officials would have sent her back at the port of entry. Anyone who disagrees after seeing the facts is mean spirited and they deserve to burn in the darkest reaches of Hell for all eternity. She is also Russian "Inconvenient Truth" (or should I call you Dan?) She is not a Mexican sex slave. Not all aliens are from Mexico.
11 :
Assuming they are willing to cooperate with ICE and the Department of Justice, there are special visas available to them, T visas under US immigration law. Clearly, assuming all the facts presented are true, this was set up by organized crime and they would be in considerable danger if they did cooperate with Federal authorities and had to return. it's in our collective best interest to prosecute the ringleaders in the US and deport them, rather than the women who were, apparently, the unwilling victims of this scheme.