Hiding in plain sight: Labor trafficking in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – While there have been conversations in our area about concerns over sex trafficking, there is another type of human trafficking that is also a growing concern, and that is labor trafficking.

“It could be the person who’s your next-door neighbor. It could be someone you run into at the grocery store,” said Call to Freedom Bilingual Case Manager Brandon Lainez.

A victim of labor trafficking could be hiding in plain sight, on the farm, the construction site, or in a local restaurant.

“That server, for example, is only making tips,” said Naomi Project Director Jordan Bruxvoort.

Labor trafficking often begins with a recruiter preying on a vulnerable prospect in their home country.

“They are looking for people who don’t have a fallback,” Jordan said.

The promises fall flat once the victim is stateside, often on a guest worker visa. Jordan Bruxvoort of the Naomi project has heard the stories firsthand.

“Employer will change the terms of the contract, and then, when the worker speaks up, threaten to send that person back to their home country,” Jordan explained.

The same accounts are shared with case managers like Brandon Lainez at Call To Freedom.

“Through domestic servitude, whether that be through beatings, not getting paid, false promises, terrible housing, sometimes very horrible conditions,” Brandon said.

Imagine the pressure of entrapment while arriving in a new country.

“Having to make weekly payments under the threat that if they don’t make these weekly payments, their family in their home country will be killed,” Jordan said.

Labor trafficking does happen in South Dakota. A Sioux Falls restaurant cited earlier this year.

“In a federal labor trafficking conviction. It was the first federal labor trafficking conviction that we’re aware of in South Dakota in more than 15 years,” Jordan explained.

Those victimizing their employees take all they can.

“I want to point out that labor trafficking and sex trafficking sometimes can go hand in hand. Bad actors who traffic individuals will do it in all kinds of ways,” said Latesha Love-Grayer with the Government Accountability Office.

Bruxvoort has ideas for solutions.

“Go from a complaint-based reactive approach to a kind of culture shift prevention approach,” Jordan said.

Educating employees in targeted jobs can be empowering. Currently, guest worker visas only allow employees to work for the one job they applied for the visa. Immigration reform could provide a victim the leverage to change.

“It’s really up to us and to our elected representatives to take action, given the enormous amount of documentation about how much trafficking has occurred under the H-2A and H-2b guest worker visa program,” Jordan said.

In extreme labor trafficking situations, help is available now.

“Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, people who are the victim of a severe form of trafficking can move forward and apply for a special visa called the T trafficking visa,” Jordan explained.

If you see an employee being kept away from customers, working long hours, or living in housing controlled by their employer, organizations like the Naomi Project, Call to Freedom and the local office of the Department of Homeland Security can help.

“We’re really hoping that Sioux Falls becomes the model for eradicating human trafficking from the formal economy,” Jordan said.

The Naomi Project also offers labor trafficking identification training to employees in the restaurant and construction industry. In turn, the business can show participation in the anti-labor trafficking campaign.

There is also a responsible sourcing tool, where you can review your business or workplace to see if there are additional ways to protect against labor trafficking.

You can find the sourcing tool here.

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